


Jericho Reimagined

by McRaider



Category: Jericho (US 2006)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5253167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McRaider/pseuds/McRaider
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been six hours, six hours since Anna had been declared dead, and twelve hours since her living will had left the care of one tiny newborn baby in his arms. The arms of a dangerous man who wasn't meant to have children. He'd killed people, killed a child. Terror flooded his veins at the very thought that he was supposed to somehow care for another life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Home

Chapter One – Coming Home  
It had been six hours, six hours since Anna had been declared dead, and twelve hours since her living will had left the care of one tiny newborn baby in his arms. The arms of a dangerous man who wasn’t meant to have children. He’d killed people, killed a child. Terror flooded his veins at the very thought that he was supposed to somehow care for another life.   
He knew Anna had family in Texas, but she’d been rather clear that her family hadn’t supported her marriage to a man like Freddy, she’d been rather adamant after Freddy’s death that should something happen to her, the baby was to go to Jake. Problem was, Jake didn’t know the first thing about raising children.   
Because he’d refused to get involved with Ravenwood, the FBI had protected both Anna and Jake; they’d spent a week in protective custody before a handful of Ravenwood operatives were caught. Now, they were safe, but it seemed like the world had a plan because here he was staring down at the tiny baby that had been placed into his arms. It was a giant metaphor the fact that he was now in charge of this little infant’s life. The nurse must have seen him, must have realized his breathing had quickened. They’d understood the situation, having been prepped beforehand, Lilly, the nurse who had been with them all along, stepped over to Jake’s side, “why don’t I take her back to the nursery for a bit, is there anyone you can call?”   
His heart was hammering in his chest, his palms felt sweaty, what if he dropped her? What if he killed her? What was he supposed to do, he didn’t know how to do this. He could hear her wailing, Jesus it had only been two minutes and he’d already made the poor baby cry. He was surprised when he felt warm hands on his knees, he looked into the green eyes of the nurse and realized they looked so much like his mother’s. “Breathe, Mr. Green,” she soothed.   
“I…I’m going to screw this up,” he whispered, barely keeping it together, the lump in his throat felt like the size of a watermelon.   
She smiled, “All parents think that at some point, I promise you. You’re going to be fine. Is there anyone we can call for you?”   
His mind went straight to his mother. In his thirty-two years he’d never for a second doubted the love she had for him. No matter what he’d done, and now he suddenly yearned for her to be there, to tell him everything was going to be okay.”   
“Can I use the phone?”   
She gave him a warm grin, she reminded him of April as she nodded and stood, “I’m going to go feed Miss Abigail here, when you’re done, why don’t you come to the nurses desk and get me. We’ll go over putting her in the baby carrier and everything.”   
He just gave her a sharp nod, unsure if he could speak right now. He watched Abi being wheeled out of the room in her bassinette and he couldn’t deny an unusual pull at his heart. He’d never felt anything like it before. He glanced over at the phone on the table beside his chair and picked it up, hearing a dial tone. It would be dawn in Jericho. As he dialed the number he’d had ingrained in him since toddlerhood, he couldn’t help but feel queasy.   
He heard the phone ring once, and was sorely tempted to hang up. What if his father answered, what if he hung up. Jake needed help, he felt lost and scared, unlike ever before. Which considering where he’d been the last five years, that was something. He closed his eyes, holding a pregnant breath when he heard the phone get answered, but no one said anything. He could hear his father in the background.   
“Hello?” He forced himself to ask, “Hello? Is anybody there? Hello?”   
“Jake!” his mother’s voice felt like music to his ears, and suddenly he felt utter relief like he’d never felt before. He’d only spoken to her a couple times in the last five years. He didn’t realize until now how much he missed her voice. She sounded so happy to hear his voice too. “Honey, where are you?”   
He could hear the tremble in her voice, he felt the ever present crushing guilt of hurting his mother who had worked so hard to ensure he was loved. He hadn’t been born to them, he’d learned that in high school genetics class, they’d adopted him at infancy. Taken him and gave him all the love and kindness he never deserved. He felt his own eyes burning with an overwhelming feeling of failure. “I…I need to come home,” he whispered, barely holding it together.   
Gail heard something in her son’s voice she hadn’t heard in ages, fear. She felt her heart break for the boy. Did their beautiful boy really believe he wasn’t welcome home, she knew Johnston and Jake had their fair share of issues, but Johnston still loved his son with all his heart and soul. Certainly Jake knew that. “Jake, you’re always welcome here, honey.”   
The little control he had left over broke at that and he couldn’t hold back the slight sob as he looked at the empty space where Anna’s bed had been. She hadn’t been his wife, but a best friend yes. He suddenly felt more alone than ever before, “Momma,” he sobbed.   
Gail’s heart hammered in her chest at that word. She’d reared this boy since infancy, and it had been nearly twenty years since he’d called her that moniker. “Where are you, baby? I’ll come to you and we can go home together,” She offered, sensing he needed more support than he was willing to admit.   
He closed his eyes, he didn’t want to burden her, and the minute he said he was at a hospital she’d panic, “I’m fine,” he lied.   
“No you aren’t sweetheart. Don’t lie to your mother, you know better. Now tell me where you are, I can get a plane out of Denver today. Where are you?” She saw the look of irritation and contempt that her husband was shooting her. He’d call it coddling, but he didn’t hear Jake’s voice, or sobs.   
“Please don’t freak out mom,” he whispered.   
Gail took a deep breath, “I’m trying not to, but you’re scaring me, honey.”   
“I’m at Sharp Memorial hospital, in San Diego,” he replied. He heard his mother’s audible breath intake. He had scared her, exactly what he didn’t want to do.   
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?” She was trying to control her own fear, when she spotted Johnston stepping forward, a look of concern in his handsome older features.   
“No…mom, I’m coming home, I just…”   
“Don’t you dare try and talk me out of this Jacob Green. You let me pack a bag and I’ll be on the first flight available. I’ll see you this evening,” The conviction in her tone was as much for Johnston as it was for Jake.   
“Okay,” Jake replied, “I love you, mom.”   
Gail smiled despite the situation, gripping the phone a little tighter in her hand she nodded, knowing full well her boy couldn’t see her, “I love you too honey. Bye.”   
As Gail disconnected the call, and held the phone close to her chest, she watched Johnston carefully. “Gail you aren’t going all the way to wherever the hell that boy is alone.”   
“He’s in San Diego,” she replied matter of fact. “And for your information I’m a grown adult who will do what I want. Now, you are certainly welcome to come, but I’m going one way or another and I’m bringing our boy home. You can either drive me to the airport, or get out of my way.”   
Johnston sighed, “I’ll drive you, go pack I’ll get you the tickets.”   
o0o  
Jake hung up the phone, realizing his mother was coming here to help him, how was he going to explain this. He stood, still feeling nausea; he moved out of the room and headed over towards the nurse’s desk. Lily glanced up, seeing him and noting he was a bit calmer it seemed she waved him over towards the nursery. He’d been dressed in a scrub top for sanitation, he stood outside and waited as she brought the bassinette back out, the little infant still squalling.   
“Why is she crying, is she okay?”  
Lily could see the genuine concern in his eyes, she pursed her lips to hide her grin, “she misses the contact. I think she’s already quite taken with you.”   
He looked down at the baby in confusion, he wasn’t her father, and how could she possibly already be attached. “That’s not possible, is it?”  
“Baby’s are intuitive, they recognize body heat and compassion, whether we know it or not,” Lily explained as they stepped back into the assigned hospital room. “We’re due to release her in the morning, she looks great. She’s eating well and everything.”   
He nodded, still numb from everything, he looked at the bag he’d packed for himself, he’d have to get Abi one probably. He’d never gone shopping in his life for a child, not since he was one and he’d hated it then. He didn’t even know what babies ate when they didn’t have a mom to nurse off of.  
“Hey,” again he felt the calm presence of Lily next to him, “One thing at a time okay, did you call your mom?”   
“Yeah she’ll be here in about five hours.”   
Lily nodded, glad to hear it, “Good, we can watch the baby a bit this evening while you go shopping with your mom to get what you need, I have absolutely no doubt the new grandma will love that. Now, you’re going to get your own car seat for the baby, but we have a standard one that we use for examples.”   
Jake watched her with patience, occasionally asking questions, Lily explained why the car seat had to be placed facing the back at first until she weighed a certain amount. She went over how to attach the base inside the car, and when he mentioned having an older car with bench seats she explained the difference and what he would do instead. “Now, try not to worry, we’ll go over all of this again with your car seat you buy tonight, promise. You have fed her yet from what I’ve seen, she ate recently, so when her new grandma gets here I’ll show you that. Also have you changed a diaper?”   
“Can’t say that I have.”   
“Okay, let’s go over that now.”  
He was trying to cling to his last shred of sanity as he realized the hundreds of things he’d probably done in his life. Everything was going to change, what the hell was he doing here? He had no right to parent this child, or any child for that matter.   
“Hey, hey, breathe,” Lily soothed, gripping his hand. The tiny infant lay wiggling around in one spot in her swaddle.   
He just looked down at her miserably, staring at her with the dawning realization that he shouldn’t have signed those forms. He wasn’t fit to be a father, he felt like an elephant sat on his chest, his legs began to shake, and he just shook his head as he backed away. Every single memory of the past five years was assaulting him and suddenly it felt like everything was too small. He was struggling to drag air into his compressed lungs, stars dancing across his vision.   
Spotting this, Lily set the baby back in her small crib once again and knelt down where Jake was now cowering. “Mr. Green, I need you to focus on my voice, come on Jake, breathe with me,” she ordered. But he was already well on his way to a full blown panic attack. “I need help in here!” She shouted.   
o0o  
It felt like an eternity for Gail, as the taxi finally pulled up to the hospital. She took her overnight bag and thanked the man, paying him as she stepped out. As she entered the building, after nearly six hours of travel, she realized she had no information as to where to find her son. She stepped up to the front desk, wincing at the idea of sounding like a complete idiot.   
“I’m looking for a Jacob Green like the color?” She asked.   
The young candy striper nodded and typed something into her system, “I’m sorry ma’am I don’t have a Jacob Green. Not even recently left. Do you know why he’s here? I can tell you the floor he might be on.” She felt her heart sink; she didn’t have a clue why he was here. He hadn’t said a single word about the reason; just that he was at the hospital.   
Before she could say anything further, she felt a hand on her should. A young woman, probably close to Jake’s age was dressed fun colored and printed scrubs, she had dark brown hair and almost clear green eyes. “You must be Jake’s mom,” she offered, “My name is Lily Auburn, I’m a nurse and have been caring for your son’s…unique situation, follow me I’ll take you to him,” she offered.   
Gail was unsure what to think, but did as the woman told her, they headed to a set of elevators and stepped inside, “Is he all right?” She finally asked.   
Lily gave the woman a warm smile and nodded, “Aside from a little panic attack earlier, he’s doing just fine. But this is definitely a situation where he needs his mom.”   
Gail was stunned as they stepped out into what was clearly a maternity ward, a million things entered her mind all at once. Jake had never mentioned a woman, though she imagined anything was possible. Did she have a grandchild? Was that why he’d been so upset earlier, something horrible had happened?   
She remained quiet as she was led to a room with the closed door, Lily knocked lightly on the door, before pushing it open. Gail wasn’t sure what she’d expected, honestly, especially after stepping off the elevator. But to see her son, sitting, whole in one piece in a rocking chair was a huge relief. He looked a bit pale, and his cheeks were red and puffy, so clearly he’d been crying. There was also a rollaway table nearby, with some water and juice on it. “Oh thank god, Jake,” she whispered.   
She didn’t know what else was going on, and frankly she didn’t care, seeing her boy propelled her forward. The dark chocolate eyes opened and as soon as he spotted his mother he was up and out of the chair and pulling her into a tight hug, one she gladly returned with fervor. Lily tiptoed out of the room to go get the baby.   
“Jake, sweetheart, what’s going on, why are you in the hospital? What’s going on, why are you on the maternity ward?”   
Jake pulled away and sighed, in most families this was a joyous moment, but he simply felt disconnected, and terrified. “Six months ago…one of my closest friends was killed…in combat,” he lied about the last part, she didn’t need the nitty gritty. “His wife was pregnant at the time, and she…” he closed his eyes, “She was rather adamant that should something happen to her I be given full guardianship over said baby.”   
Gail could see he was devastated by the losses of his two friends, and the knowledge that someone trusted him so deeply with their child was incredible. “I take it she didn’t make it?” She asked gently as she took a seat in another nearby chair.   
He shook his head, “We came in around 3 this morning, she was complaining of cramps and bleeding. She feared the baby was getting terminated. We got here they rushed her right into surgery. I couldn’t come in, she was told her or the baby,” he closed his eyes, a tear sliding down his face, “She chose the baby.”   
“I’m so sorry, Jake,” she reached out and gently ran her hand over his stubbled chin, “And you’re keeping the child?”   
He shrugged, “I feel like I’m betraying her and the child if I give it up, this is all I have left of Freddy and Anna,” he let his hands fall to his side, chin hitting his chest in defeat, “But I can’t be a good dad,” he shook his head. “Dad’s going to have a field day.”   
Gail waved him off, “You leave your father to me. For the record he didn’t feel all that different than this when you came along.”   
“Really?”   
Gail chuckled, “Sweetheart, your father isn’t as tough as he looks. He was terrified he’d break you. We wanted you so bad, but he hadn’t realized all the responsibility that encompassed really.”   
“Tell me about it,” Jake mumbled.   
The door opened again and a bassinette was pushed in, a small swaddled baby lay inside, whining slightly. Gail turned and her eyes lit up, it was the first time Jake felt like things might really be okay. “She’s due to be released first thing in the morning, before rounds, probably around 6:30, I thought maybe you’d like to meet your granddaughter,” Lily explained.   
“You have no idea,” Gail’s voice was thick with emotion and excitement, as Lily handed her the small baby. “That a girl, hey there princess,” she whispered gently as she rocked her back and forth.   
Lily glanced over at Jake, surprised to see he looked as in awe as grandma did. She chuckled, “I told Jake when you arrived he may need to go shopping to get everything you’ll need. We can bring her back into the room once you guys are staying for the evening.”   
“Of course, oh goodness you are beautiful,” she murmured as she pressed her lips to the silken forehead of the infant, the dark black hair tickling her nose. “She’s perfect,” before Jake could truly protest his mother handed her to him. He scrambled for a moment to prepare himself, but then as he stared at the little body he felt that familiar pull return.   
“Yeah,” he offered voice quiet, “She is.”   
“What’s her name, daddy. You haven’t officially given her one yet,” Lily prompted; she’d been waiting to see him make the initial contact. There was a moment with most fathers when it hit them that they were daddies. Though it had taken longer with Jake, it was clear now as he stared down at the infant, his thumb rubbing her soft cheek, that the connection was finally made.   
“Abigail Erica,” he replied instantly, he’d mentioned Abigail to Anna months ago because of his mother and she’d fallen instantly for it. He glanced up at his mother to see her cheeks damp with tears. “After you and grandpa.”   
“I assure you we are both honored,” Gail replied.   
“I’ll note the birth certificate. Why don’t you two go shopping, I’ll let the night nurse know to bring her back in when you return for the night. I’ll bring you all the appropriate paperwork in the morning.”   
“Thank you,” Gail smiled as she watched Lily take the baby back from her boy. She looked at Jake, who still looked overwhelmed, though it seemed like adjusting was beginning to occur. “Well this is quite the surprise,” she was practically giggling in glee.   
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he replied as he stood and followed her out of the room to the elevator.   
“Honey, I understand, it’s a complicated situation, and finding out this way was far more fun.”   
Jake chuckled, “I missed you mom,” he pulled her into his arms and hugged her again. She took a deep breath, taking in all that was her eldest boy, until the ding of the elevator alerted them that they’d arrived back to the main entrance area.   
“I missed you too, sweetheart. I’ll text your dad on the way to the store asking him to book us a train ride home.”   
“Train?” Jake questioned.   
She chuckled, “Honey, you really don’t want to take a newborn up in a plane two days after her birth, she’ll cry the whole time.”   
“Oh,” he hadn’t really thought about that, though it made sense, pressure changes and all that. He was starting to wonder if he really was fit to be a father again. Before he could get much further into self loathing he felt his mother’s hand on his.   
“Honey, give yourself time, you’re going to be a wonderful dad.”   
Jake laughed at that, “I’m pretty sure dad and half of Jericho would disagree with you completely.”   
“You leave your father to me sweetheart. It’s going to be fine, I promise.” It took about ten minutes to get to a Baby’s R US, as they stepped inside, Jake realized this was it, there was no going back.   
“I don’t have any money,” he murmured.   
Gail gripped his hand, “As a grandma it’s my job to ensure my little one is well cared for, don’t worry. Come on, lets find some cute outfits, a carrier, we’ll keep it down to that, you can stay in Denver or Rogue River and grab the rest once we get home.”   
“Okay, um, lets go look at clothes I guess,” Jake said as he headed to the wracks of baby clothes.   
“I’d say lets get a handful of onsies, and footie stuff, for now and as she grows, that way we can go shopping as she gets older.”   
He nodded, picked out a handful of clothes that featured various adorable animals and patterns. He found himself excited as he grabbed things, his mom grabbed an econo pack of diapers and put those in the cart. “Isn’t that a bit…excessive right now?”   
She laughed at him, “Trust me, you’ll go through them very quickly,” she moved over to baby bags, “Unfortunately most of these bags are going to be rather feminine, but look through them and see what you like, I’m going to go get some formula.”   
“Formula?”   
Gail chuckled, “Sweetie, I don’t know if you noticed but she has to eat, and she doesn’t have a mommy to nurse from.”   
His face grew serious, “I’m a total screw up, I hadn’t even really--”  
“Sweetie,” she pressed her hand to his cheek, “That’s why you called me, it’s okay to be overwhelmed,” she rubbed her thumb against his jaw line for another moment, before heading down the isle.   
He sighed, trying to draw his emotions back under control, he found himself terrified again. Taking another deep slow breath, he spotted a bag in the back, it was military camouflage green backpack he grabbed that one, since he’d been in the army briefly. He knew he’d have to explain it to his mom, but he was far less afraid of that. Remembering what Lily had told him about a car seat he moved over to the next isle and found a car seat that was convertible from just a seat and would sit on a stroller as well. It was dark pink and black, deciding he liked that one and it was easy to maneuver he grabbed that and put the other things they’d grabbed into that, leaving the car behind him.   
He stepped down the next isle and found an isle filled with stuffed animals. He grinned, glancing back towards his mother who was still scouring the food sections, he looked at one particularly adorable purple and gray stuffed elephant, and decided she needed that one specifically. He grabbed that and put it in the stroller, he heard a chuckle and whirled around to see his mother with an armful of formula. “Mom that’s enough to feed her for like a year!” he stated.   
“I’m her grandma, it’s my job to make sure she’s well stocked, and don’t think I didn’t see you grab that adorable elephant. You’re going to be just like your father.”   
“What do you mean?” Jake asked as they made their way to the check out stations.   
Gail smiled, “I forgot you haven’t really heard the story about you coming with us yet. Well, we were told about you a month and a half in advance. The mother had been debating keeping the child for a little while, but ultimately at only 17 she was pushed into giving you up by her parents. So we got the call that you were going to be ours, you wouldn’t have believed your dad. Always the one to be cautious and calm about things said within moments we needed to go out and buy everything for you. He and EJ spent nearly forty-five minutes in the toy aisle arguing over farm animals, which is naturally what EJ wanted, vs. puppies.”   
Jake chuckled, “Who won?”  
Gail grinned, a cheeky shy grin, that told him neither man had won, “Let’s just say mom’s always get their ways. You got green elephants because they were adorable.” Jake laughed as they finished paying and headed back out to the parking lot. “I’m going to call your father to book the train ride, why don’t you go ahead and pack the car up, okay?”  
“Thanks mom.”   
Gail pulled out her cell and dialed, waiting until she heard her husband’s handsome voice on the other end “Hello?” He spoke.   
“Hi honey, how’s everything at home?” Gail greeted.   
“Fine, how’s our young man?”   
Gail considered how much to share, she felt that telling someone they were a grandfather was best told in person, especially considering the situation. “Jake is doing better, he’s not the one in the actual hospital. If you could reserve us three seats on a train first thing in the morning that would be great.”   
“Jake found himself a girl, huh?”   
Gail smirked, as she considered just how true that statement was, “Something like that. Anyway, we’re going to make a couple stops on the way home, but I believe Jake still has his car at the station, so no need to pick us up.”   
“All right, long as your sure, just…call me when you get in the area, all right? Is this serious, or is he bringing some floozy home?”   
Gail sighed, her husband was going to be the hardest part of getting Jake through parenthood. “I think you’ll like this girl.”   
“Right,” Johnston didn’t sound terrible convinced, “I’ll get you the ride, I’ll have the tickets ready when you get there and waiting. You gonna tell me her name, or is it a surprise.”   
“You like surprises, Johnston, remember.”   
“No I don’t!” he replied.   
“Bye honey,” she grinned and hung up as he replied in kind.   
o0o  
By nearly five thirty the following morning, son, grandma and granddaughter were headed to the train station in San Diego. It would take six hours to get to Denver, and another 3 hours to get to Jericho.   
They were picking up some things in Denver, a crib and such. At the moment however, Jake was seated in the corner against the window, holding rather greedy infant while he fed her. Gail had to admit it was the sweetest thing she thought she’d never see. He spoke to her occasionally, or would stroke her tiny toes that were sticking out occasionally. It was clear something had changed in him over the course of several hours they’d spent together. He was warming up to the idea of fatherhood and becoming rather fond of the infant.   
“Sweetheart, there’s something I haven’t told you quite yet.”   
Jake glanced up, the smile on his face still present; she almost wished she didn’t have to tell him this. “What’s wrong?”   
“Your grandfather passed away a few months ago.”   
The smile faded from his face, she could see his jaw tighten as he tried to swallow a few times. He looked down at the baby, who he held just a bit closer, “I guess you don’t get to meet great-grandpa EJ,” he whispered, his voice on edge and close to breaking. “He would’ve adored you,” he whispered. A tear slid down his face and dropped to her small hand.   
She reached the same hand out and pressed it to his nose; he smiled despite the situation and pressed a kiss to the tiny little palm. “I love you, squirt,” he murmured. “How’re you going to tell dad about her?” He asked, changing the subject, not wanting to break down further in front of his mother.   
“I imagine I’ll let him hold her, man is a sucker for a cute lady.”   
Jake chuckled at that, “Too much info mom.”   
“He has missed you son,” she offered some time later, they’d strapped the little one into back seat where she was now cuddled up with the toy elephant that was practically the same size as her. They’d bought far too much in Denver and were now headed to their home, completely packed full of furniture and everything they would need for the foreseeable future for Abi.   
Jake’s mouth curved down, “Right, clearly you mean he missed being disappointed in me. I didn’t ask for this,” he sighed, his left arm leaning against the driver’s side door as it all but held his head up. “I could’ve given her up…I thought about it.” He had, for several hours. For nearly three hours he’d considered all the pros and cons, he was terrified of being a parent, he was dangerous, and he’d killed people. Now here he was, supposedly capable of caring for an infant. “I…I killed people mom. I’m not safe, but I wanted a fresh start. I knew I’d be safe here, we’d be safe here. I just,” he shook his head and looked out the side window.   
Gail studied her boy for a long moment, before reaching out and gently stroking his hair, “Johnston will come around. You don’t give him enough credit, be honest with him, he’s had a few trials of his own you know.”   
“What if he doesn’t love her, when I tell him the truth? No one can know, and I can’t tell dad about…about the military.”  
“Jake, your father is going to love her no matter what. He’s a huge softie and you know it.”   
“Maybe,” Jake didn’t kid himself about the utter disappointment he was to his father, and Johnston hadn’t exactly been subtle about it either. He’d never feared his father, the man’s disappointment and general disapproval had been plenty for Jake.   
They were less than five miles outside the city when Jake spotted it, “What the hell,” he whispered, even his mother looked as they watched a mushroom cloud erupt from where they had been not two and a half hours earlier.   
“JAKE!” his mother screamed, a second later he felt the harsh impact as another on coming vehicle swerved into their lane, he was crushed sideways, slamming his head into the window as it shattered into pieces, he felt jolting agony in his thigh, and his last thought was about Abi and his mom before he lost consciousness.  
o0o  
Johnston looked down at his cell phone that continued to have no reception, his heart ached and he was terrified, petrified in fact that he’d just lost his wife and son in the explosion in Denver.  
“Dad?” Eric spoke, touching his father’s arm to get his attention. He couldn’t focus on that now, he wasn’t ready, and instead he turned to face the angry and terrified parents. He tried not to take it personally when one of them told him he didn’t have a child lost out there. No, he probably didn’t. His had probably been blown to damn pieces in the explosion, giving him no chance to apologize for mile wild chasm that lay between them.   
“Jake! Jake!” the voice kept repeating, he groaned as he came to, the pounding in his head increased tenfold as he tried to move his head, he felt someone support his head and neck, then he tried to move and he cried out in pain. “Jake, baby, don’t move,” his mother’s voice reassured him.   
“Mom?” he tried to recall what had happened, the mushroom cloud, idiot drivers who swerved towards him. His eyes shot open and he looked over at her, “Are you all right!? Abi!?” He tried to turn but another spike of agony in his leg stopped him.   
“Breathe, sweetie. We’re both fine. Well…I might have whiplash, but I’m fine, and Abi is just fine. You lost consciousness, where are you hurt?”   
He groaned as he got a good look at the inside of his car, “I’m fine mom,” he groaned, he opened his car door and went to move his leg, before he cried out in pain again. He looked down to see a shard of metal sticking out of it, he leaned his head back, trying not to sob. “We need to get moving, it’s going to get dark soon.”   
“Have you lost your mind, you’ve got a serious concussion, and you can’t walk on that leg, what about Abi?”   
Jake shook his head, trying to breathe through the pain like he’d been taught: In through his nose, out through his mouth. In. Out. In. Out, “Mom, we have to get moving. It’s not safe out here, who knows what is coming. I’ll ask Eric to come tow the car later. Grab Abi’s carrier and lets go,” he forced himself out of the car, biting his lip as he tried to put weight on it, the metal was in his thigh, he was loosing a fair amount of blood, but for now he’d just have to push through.   
He came around to the front of the car, he wanted to grab as much of the baby stuff as he could, but with the risk it’d slow him down, it was better off out here for now. “Honey, are you sure you’re okay?” Gail clearly didn’t believe him, but he nodded.  
“We’re seven, maybe ten miles out, we can make it shortly after dark, can…can you carry her?” He looked down at the carrier and was thankful and relieved to see her eyes were open, but was otherwise completely unharmed. He tried not to consider it a miracle as he didn’t believe in them anymore.   
“Of course, let’s go.”  
o0o  
They were about three miles out of town when he heard the screaming, “Jake,” Gail whispered as she saw the two children. He whirled around without a second thought and hobbled quickly towards the children, “What’s wrong, are you all right?” He asked the two kids.   
“They’re dying! Hurry,” the little girl cried. He glanced back at his mother before he hurried after them, she followed as quickly as she could. “The deer went crazy, Mrs. Green! And started running all over the road,” Julia explained as they hurried to the bus.   
“All right,” Jake grimaced at the sight of the dead dear, “Just don’t look at it,” he was the first on the bus, testing to see if the driver was alive.   
“Is he?” Gail stopped as she stepped inside.   
“He’s alive, there’s an empty seat, help me move him back, you can set Abi there,” Jake instructed. He saw another adult, a woman sitting back looking like the was close to throwing up across from the seat he was going to put the driver in, “You okay?”   
She nodded, “Yeah, I think my leg is broken,” she ground out.   
Gail moved over towards the young woman, “Can you move your toes?”   
“Yeah, don’t worry about me,” she waved to the children.   
Jake took quick action, military training kicking in, assess and treat. “Anyone hurt? Anybody?”   
“Stacy’s sick,” one little boy towards the back of the bus called. “She can’t breathe,” he announced pointing to the seat in front of him.   
Jake hobbled back there, he spotted the girl lying down, both hands on her neck as she struggled to pull air in. “Hey Stacy, it’s okay, can I see it, please?” he asked, glad when she finally removed her hands. The swelling was horrible, she’d probably crushed her esophagus. “Do you have an ice pack, we need to stop the swelling now!”   
“Lucas, there’s a first aid kit un the seat,” Heather instructed.   
He was handed the ice pack, he quickly gave it a jolt to make it cool and then pressed it to her throat gently. “Hurts,” she whimpered, before her eyes slid closed and the breathing stopped.   
“Stacy? Stacy, no, no no no!” he shouted, he felt his heart sink into his chest he glanced back around the bus, his mother’s wide eyes staring at him. “Think, come on Jake,” he murmured to himself, then it clicked, “I need a pen! Does anyone have a pen!?”  
“We have pencils,” Lucas offered.   
Jake shook his head, “No, it needs to be a tube, how about a straw, anyone have a straw, it’s hollow.”   
“I do,” Julia offered, she handed her straw to Jake.   
“It’s too small, does anyone else have one?” He was pleasantly surprised when the chorus of I do surrounded him. “Good, get them out, give all your straws to, what’s your name?” he asked the girl.   
“Julie.”   
“Give all your straws to Julie. Julie, form a circle with them and tape them together with the Band-Aids. Quick, hurry. Mom, can you come here and hold her down.”  
Gail knew he was doing a tracheotomy, what she didn’t know was how he knew how to do it. She moved back to him, scooting into the seat, he pulled out his pocket knife, sterilizing it with one of the wipes from the first aid kit, he took a deep breathe and pressed it against her throat, “Okay,” he sighed, another soothing breath before pressing the blade in and slicing a small line, “Straws?” he requested, taking them from Julie. He was muttering under his breath to himself, as he slid it into the air way, praying it worked. When she didn’t breathe he felt his heart begin to pound, “Come on, come on,” he took a deep breathe and breathed into the straws, watching her lungs inflate, pulling away he waited. “Please breathe,” he murmured, again another burst of air through the straws, his own lungs burning from effort.   
A tiny gasp startled him and he let out a huff of exhaustion and thanks, she looked up at him with wide eyes, as he rubbed his thumb against her throat. “Mom, can you get me some Band-Aids to hold this in place?”   
“Jake, are you okay?” she asked as she took his spot by Stacy to keep the straws in place and reassure the child.   
“Fine mom,” he lied. Truthfully he felt like he’d fall over any second, his entire leg ached and was starting to bleed more. His ribs were killing him and his head felt like it was trying to play an all drum marching band against his skull. “Let’s go home,” managed to back the bus up and head towards town.   
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Lucas asked.   
Jake glanced back at his mother for a moment, “Military school, he admitted.”   
“Are you a solider!?” Another child asked with excitement.   
Jake gave a huff of amusement, “No, just a screw up,” he replied, never seeing his mother’s look of devastation that he thought such a thing.   
He was starting to see double and feel nausea. His thoughts as he struggled to keep driving towards his town revolved around his daughter. If he fell asleep and crashed the bus they’d die, of that much he was sure. So he struggled with every last ounce of energy he had, despite the splitting headache and the jarring and occasional stab in his thigh. He honked the horn half a dozen times, praying the mass of people would see them, he was seconds away from letting the oblivious and darkness take him. As he opened the door and people started to enter he tried to shout for the EMTs to help them, but it came out more like a pleading request of a dying man.   
Jake looked over at the woman he didn’t know, “What’s your name?”   
“Heather,” she was still in pain, but managed a smile, what’s yours?”   
“Jake.”   
“Nice to meet you Jake.”   
He managed a weak nod, “You too,” he replied watching them take Stacy off the bus.   
When he saw his father and Eric step into the doorway, the utter relief that filled the pale old face was enough to make Jake want to sob, “Dad,” he groaned.   
“Eric, help your brother,” Gail moved the baby carrier off the bus and stepped out of the way.   
“Is that a baby?” Johnston asked.   
“Not right now, Johnston,” as she thrust the carrier and baby into Johnston’s arms and helped maneuver Jake out of the bus.   
Jake felt the steady heat of his brother as the taller man stepped under his arm and helped him off the bus, “Put your arm around me,” Eric soothed as another EMT came over to them. He gasped as he felt something in his chest pull. He’d hit the side of the door too, he imagined his left side ribs were bruised.   
“Gonna throw up,” he’d barely eaten anything but as the concussion made itself more known while he moved he felt him stomach rebelling. Eric grimaced as the little food his brother had splashed in front of them.   
“I got ya brother,” Eric soothed, as he and the EMT got him up and into the ambulance, Gail climbing in behind him, she took the baby carrier back from her husband, who was still looking confused. The man looked like he was about to say something but shook his head and just turned away from all of it to talk to his town.   
“Eric, get April. We'll meet you at the medical center,” Gail ordered as she sat beside her son.  
“Okay,” Eric began to move away.  
“Hey, there's an empty prison bus out there,” Jake forced out as he shook from pain and exhaustion. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.   
“Where abouts?” Eric questioned.  
“Cedar Run,” he offered automatically, he could feel his mother rubbing his bruised knuckles. “Also, we crashed the car about five and a half miles outside of town, get a tow…baby stuff in it.”   
Eric, deciding it was best not to ask just nodded, “Alright. Just relax. We'll take care of it,” his brother assured him, before leaving him alone with his mother.  
“Oh God. Look at you! You're a mess,” she looked down at the metal in his leg that was soaking his pants with blood.  
“I'm fine. Stop worrying about me,” he groused through clenched teeth, his jaw tight, he looked up at her as he wiped the sweat from his face.  
“Good luck with that,” she replied, her tone filled with sarcasm, she studied the side of his head, head wounds always bled profusely, it looked fairly shallow.   
“I was afraid I’d never this city again,” she whimpered, her eyes filling with tears, as she looked over the bloody mess that was her eldest boy. She still couldn’t fathom the man before her, he would always be the sweet little boy who was prone to nightmares and loved a good snuggle before bedtime.   
“You think I’d let dad have the last word?” he smirked, his eyes closing briefly.   
“Quit talkin’ about me,” the tone was supposed to be joking and playful, but as Johnston saw the look of disappointment and sadness in his son’s eyes, he realized it didn’t sound that way at all. Johnston felt horrible for what he’d said to his boy years earlier.   
Then the thought that his eldest was missing when they were having a huge crisis, he’d been equally as terrified they’d never see him or Gail again, he wanted to be relieved but a part of him still couldn’t believe this had all happened. But his pride got in the way, even as his wife gave him the coldest look he’d ever felt and seen in his lifetime. “You did well out there today. Your grandfather would be proud,” he offered, because that’s all he could stomach right now through his own self loathing. “I’ll meet you at the medical clinic.”   
o0o  
April met the barely conscious Jake Green and his mother along with the baby at the entrance. “Is that a baby?”   
“Check her over,” Jake instructed weakly, “Please, check her first.”   
April looked at Jake, he looked far worse off than the poor baby, but she assumed there was a reason for his insistence, “Okay,” she looked back to the EMTs, “get him in one of our exam rooms, while I give her the once over.”   
“Gail, you want to explain just what the hell is going on here?” Johnston was at his wits end, he was tired and his relief at seeing his wife and son healthy and safe was starting to shift into irritated exhaustion.   
Gail turned and looked at her husband, her eyes swam with tears before she threw herself into his arms. He was all too happy to return the hug as she wept into his shoulder, “I was afraid when I saw the mushroom cloud.”  
“You’re telling me, I thought for sure I’d just become a widower,” he shivered at such a thought. He kissed her lips, and then looked at the baby. “Who’s baby?”   
“Her name is Abigail Erica.”   
Johnston looked shock, “Where’s her mother, never mind that, who is her mother? Is she Jake’s?”   
Gail sighed and shook her head, “Jake had some friends who died recently, and unfortunately one of them was her mother, when she was born. The mother was adamant about willing all guardian ship to Jake.”   
“He’s a father?”   
“He is now.”   
Johnston felt like he needed to sit down suddenly. Before he could completely come undone, April handed the baby to him, “Meet your granddaughter, grandpa.”   
“Oh god,” he whispered as he accepted the infant into his arms. She was absolutely beautiful. Olive skinned, a dark tuft of hair on her beautiful head and dark brown eyes staring up at her. “Well then,” he whispered as he took a seat in a nearby chair.   
“I’m going to go check on Jake,” April offered.   
Johnston didn’t reply, he just continued to stare at the beautiful baby girl in his arms. Suddenly he realized what EJ had felt like probably holding his grandson the first time. “Oh dad,” he whispered, thinking about his father. Of all the ways he could’ve imagined the world could change, nuclear war and a granddaughter wasn’t exactly what he’d considered.   
o0o  
When he came to he was in an individual hospital room, a small bandage on his hair line and his pants had been replaced by a pair of shorts with a thick gauze bandage around his leg. He was up at a slight angle. His head still hurt, but not as bad as before, he glanced around and was surprised to see his father sitting in a at his side; he held Abi in his arms. The angry features he was used to seeing were smoothed over as the man chatted idly to the infant, as if she was paying attention to his every word.   
It took a few seconds for Jake to focus enough to hear the words his father was saying, he was talking about grandpa, and how EJ Green had been an incredible pilot. As his father hadn’t seen him yet, Jake decided to feign innocence, he closed his eyes and acted, “Mom?” he called, slowly opening his eyes this time, admittedly he was still trying to blink away the sleep and whatever medications April had dosed him with.   
“She went home to get some clean clothes for you, it’s just me, son. Well, me and my gorgeous little granddaughter,” he stood and smiled at the little baby, before handing her over to her father.   
Jake made sure he was awake enough to take her, he looked down at her and smiled, “Hey you,” he murmured, “Daddy got clobbered a bit, sorry. Is she okay?” He pressed a light kiss to her soft hair. “Were you getting to know grandpa?”  
“April checked her out first, she’s absolutely fine, apparently you strapped her and her carrier in absolutely perfectly. How ya feeling, son?”   
Jake considered his answer for a moment, he felt better than yesterday, but still felt sore, “Okay I guess. Is she okay? Has she been fed?”   
A look of mild surprise crossed Johnston’s aged features, before he concealed them behind his usual mask, “Your mother fed her about an hour or so ago. Does she ever cry, don’t think I’ve heard her mutter a whimper.”   
Jake ran a finger over her olive skinned cheek and nodded, “She cries, just not often. Guess I got lucky.”  
Johnston watched his son for a long moment, the look of utter love and amazement was one Johnston was familiar with. He’d had the very same look on his face nearly 32 years ago. How had he gotten it so wrong he wondered? How had he misjudged his boy and why so quickly? Yes, as a boy and young man, Jake hadn’t been a very good person. He’d made terrible and stupid decisions. The man before him, however was different, the selfishness was gone, the anger, everything that had defined his son as Jake Green had clearly changed at some point.   
Before Johnston could say anything further, the door to the room opened and his mother stepped in, with April right behind him. “You’re awake,” Gail’s grin was brighter than any electricity could generate.   
Jake gave her a smile, “Seems we both are,” he bounced her ever so slightly in his arms and looked over at his father, “How is everything in town?”   
Johnston glanced at his wife who still looked a bit irritated with him, “Everything is quiet for now. A few of the towns people found out you had a baby and have donated some stuff for you; it’s back at the house, by the way, and Eric brought your car back about twenty minutes ago, he and Stanley are unpacking everything in the house. You let your mother buy the place out didn’t you?”   
“Like you wouldn’t have,” mumbled Gail grinning as she brushed the hair off her boy’s forehead.   
“All in all, today went much better than it could have. It’s good to have you back, Jake.” April offered, as she moved around the bed to his leg injury. Gail moved forward and reached for the baby from Jake, who willingly gave the girl over. “You really need to stay off this for a day or two.”   
Jake snorted, “I think you and I both know that won’t happen,” as he pushed himself forward, but as soon as he put weight on the leg he just about collapsed, the only thing catching him was his father.   
“Son, do yourself a favor, and take a load off, at least until dawn. For right now, the town can survive without you," despite how much Jake clearly wanted to fight Johnston, he nodded and allowed himself to be put back onto the bed.   
"I have to find a place to live and…"   
Gail shook her head, "You're staying with us, and we’ve already set up your room and everything."   
Jake stared at her, confused for a moment as to how anyone would want to help him, "Really?"   
April smirked; she forgot how dense and sweet her brother-in-law could be,   
As Gail handed her granddaughter back to her son, she reached out and stroked his cheek. He was in complete awe that anyone would want to help him, she worried they'd done more damage when he was young. "You're home now Jake," she assured him, just relax. I brought you a change of clothes for tomorrow; they'll release you in the morning."   
The infant in his arms started crying and a kicking suddenly, getting fussy. Jake reached out and gripped one of her little hands. He smiled and began to hum a song, something his mother had sung to him as a child. April slipped out of the room, as did Johnston; Gail continued petting her son's silken hair, occasionally joining him in a round of Hey Jude. Johnston watched the trio fall asleep and smiled at the new normal they were about to have, his life had been up ended in one day, and yet as he watched his wife, son and new grandchild he couldn't help but feel happy that at least one thing had changed.


	2. Fall Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fallout after the nukes hit. Warning Major Character Death

Chapter Two – Fallout  
Abi was fast asleep in the hospital nursery, when Jake decided to check on things outside, he was more than a little nervous about potential weather headed their way due to the bomb. The discovery from Dale that there'd been another explosion yesterday in Atlanta had set everyone on edge, and while Jake wanted to admit maybe it was an accident, he knew deep down in his bones this was anything but accidental. He went around the back of the building and started ascending the ladder to get to the roof; his leg still ached, though now it was clad in gauze and jeans. He pulled himself up to each rung, getting closer and closer to the top. He hadn't been officially released yet, but with only one doctor max the likelihood of April keeping him in one of the beds was slim to none, after all as far as he was concerned there were plenty of others who would probably need the bed more.   
As he pulled to the top he took a look out towards Denver, the mix of clouds laden with leftover ash, and storm clouds was looming over the city like the coming apocalypse. The wind was blowing and the looming sight of it made him sick to his stomach. "Oh god," he whispered, before whirling around and sliding carefully back down the ladder, hobbling as fast as he could.   
He was limping through the corridor when his mother moved towards him, "Jake, where have you been? You haven't even been released yet,” she looked at her wits end with him, he felt bad for that, but he really didn’t have time to explain himself.   
"Where's April?" He asked, overriding her questions.   
"Down the hall seeing to Heather, why, what's going on?" Gail questioned as she hurried behind her son.   
He brushed past her towards the exam rooms, "Get dad on the radio!" he ordered before he was out of ear shot. He stepped into the exam room down the hall where Heather and April were talking. Stopping he was pleased to see that Heather looked much better than she had on the bus. "Jake!" she greeted him, smiling wide, practically beaming really.   
"Hi Heather, feeling better?" They didn’t really have time for idle chit chat, but he felt excited to talk to her, to see her. He couldn’t quite explain it.   
"Much, is everything okay?"   
He shook his head looking to April, "Does the medical center have a fallout shelter?"   
"Sure, I'll take you to it. What’s going on?” She turned and headed out the door, Jake followed her best he could, with Heather right behind him. "I'm not sure the last time anyone was actually down here," she offered as they took the stairs at the end of the hall down. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. The trio stood there in abject horror at the filthy, musty sight before them. Rats running around, water dripping on the floor.   
"I can't put people down here!" April snapped, her mind going to the hundreds of staph infections that could be caused.   
Jake shook his head as he pushed into the room, as if he was in a state of denial at the idea that they were about to suffer through this. "There's no air, no air at all…I hope this fan works, otherwise…we're going to have to find somewhere else," he whispered.   
Heather looked at him, "I can have a look at it I know a few things about engineering."   
Jake sighed, "I'll be right back, I need to talk to my brother," he hurried back out of the room, running directly into his mom upstairs. "Mom!"   
"You're not supposed to be out of bed yet, what is going on?" she questioned.   
Jake shook his head, "Not right now mom, take Abigail and go to the other fallout shelter," he ordered as he moved towards the nursery where he'd left the radio.   
Gail huffed and followed him, "I'm not going anywhere, and these people need help and what about you?"   
"Mom! I’m not going to argue with you," his whisper was desperate, and closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to best get to her. "Mom, there's a fall out from the nuclear blast headed this way, the shelter downstairs is filled with medical equipment and currently has no air. I don't even know if we can fix it. There's no way I can concentrate knowing you and Abi are here, so go," his tone was firm but calmer. He was terrified; over two hundred people would die if he didn't get it fixed.   
Gail eyed him for a moment, then looked down at Abi who was clearly aware of the adults around her as she'd started fussing and crying. She felt her resolve soften, she had just gotten her boy back in her life, and now this little princess too. "Promise me you'll come to the shelter when it's fixed," she reasoned. When he didn’t immediately reply she felt her eyes tearing up.   
"Mom--" He couldn’t make promises right now.   
"Promise me!" she snapped he saw it in her eyes, the same fear he'd seen the last time he'd walked away from her.   
He couldn't hurt her again, even if it meant lying. He looked down at Abi, he wanted to keep the world safe for her, even if it meant someone else was around to raise her. He pressed a feather light kiss to her hair, and then looked back at his mother, "I promise," he lied, she grabbed him with one arm and hugged him tight, which he greedily returned as he felt his daughter kicking at his belly.   
She finished, pulling away, she recahed out, cupping his cheek, "I want all my boys with me," she stated firmly.   
"Okay, go mom," he gestured down to the infant. "Just be safe okay," he kissed his mother's cheek and took the radio, hobbling back downstairs. "Eric?"   
"I'm here, Jake."   
"I just sent mom over to City hall."   
"I thought you had a shelter there," Eric's reply was one of confusion.   
Jake closed his eyes, pressing the radio to his head as he tried to push through the pain, "There is, but it may not be functional. Just keep her there, okay, and Abi, and Dad too," Jake ordered.   
"You got it; I'll let you know when she's here."   
Jake nodded, despite the fact that Eric wouldn't see it. He headed back downstairs, April was talking to a group of nurses and orderlies, some older gentleman probably maintenance was doing something with the air vent, while Heather was working on the fan belt.   
"How's it going?"   
"The fan-belt has frayed; any mid-century American car would be a good match. Also we need to check the pressure before we turn it on so the motor doesn't overheat."   
He nodded, "I'll go look for the fan belt," he replied as he turned to head back out, while he heard Heather tell the old man he was doing something wrong. He had to admit he liked her spunk, she was sweet and hilarious, and nothing like he'd dated before. Then again he'd only ever dated Emily and that had turned into a near disaster.   
o0o  
Eric was giving instructions to people as they brought their families in, when he heard his mother's familiar voice; he glanced over to see her walk in, "Jake, its Eric, mom and Abi just arrived."   
"Good, thanks Eric. We may have a bigger problem though."   
"Johnston, you're supposed to be resting," Gail commented as Eric moved closer.   
"I know, I just have to help Eric get the supplies in."   
Gail shook her head, "I've already sent people to do that."   
Johnston practically huffed with indignation, "Gail, who's in charge here?" He demanded.   
Gail's look turned ice cold, and Eric felt himself back away slightly so as not to take on any verbal barrage, "You mean aside from the spat mom and dad are having?" he replied quietly into his radio. He heard his brother chuckle on the other side.   
"You do NOT want to play that game with me, Johnston Jacob Green." She was terrified about her sons, she was afraid her husband was ill. Fear filled her veins.   
Before Johnston could reply, thankfully, one of his men came in carrying all the books he could find in the library on nuclear bombs. Once Hawkins had sufficiently terrified everyone within ear shot he glanced at his wife and decided he needed a little space, "There's a bunch of people in the church, they held a vigil there all night, I'm gonna go make sure they go to the shelter." He gave his granddaughter's head a gentle caress, before making his way towards the exit.   
"Hurry back," Gail called after him.   
"Yes ma'am."   
Gail turned to Eric, "And it wasn't a spat."   
o0o  
Heather shook her head at the cantankerous man of a maintenance guy who insisted on starting the fan before it was ready, "I'm telling you, they need replaced, the bushes are shot they're rubbing too high--" before he or she could argue further sparks flew in every direction.   
"Turn it off!" Jake shouted as he ran over to the main power switch. As it came to a grinding halt he realized that was the horrific sound of failure. He closed his eyes in defeat, shoulders sagging as he wracked his brain to think of other places that were safe.   
"Jake, I've got everyone ready, what now?" April asked as she stepped into the doorway.   
"Don't let them in!" he snapped as he turned around and looked at her, the faces of terrified children staring back at him.  
April looked stunned and concerned, "The rain is going to be here soon, these people are terrified. Where are we supposed to go?"   
He didn't know, he could feel the edge of the precipice of control rapidly fading, taking a calming breath he shook his head, "If we seal them in here they're going to die. Let's try town hall, there's buses outside."   
"You're the boss," she turned and rapidly started firing off instructions.   
Heather stepped over to Jake and gripped his hand, "We'll find something," she offered.   
He squeezed her hand in return, "I hope you're right," the two limped out of the shelter and back up towards the exits. "Dad? Dad are you there?" he called into the walkie talkie.   
"It's me, Jake. Dad's checking out the church.”  
"The shelter's shot, I'm bringing everyone to town hall."   
Eric shook his head, "Hold on there, Jake. I don't think we can hold that many people. What about a basement?"   
"They don't have basements, Eric," Jake all but sneered, "That's why you sent them to us, remember?" Before he could say more his sister-in-law snapped the walkie out of his hand.   
"Eric we've got two hundred people here. Some of whom need medical attention, handle it! We're coming." she snapped, before thrusting the device back to him. Jake just stared at her in awe, he had forgotten just how terrifying the Green woman could be some days. "Sorry, sometimes my husband needs a kick."   
Jake snickered, "You don't have to tell me, I grew up with him, remember."   
April smiled and nodded, "Let's get everyone ready."   
Heather sat behind Jake on the bus, "You're scared," she whispered.   
Jake nodded as he put the bus in gear, "If town hall can't take us…I don't know where to go," he offered. "Plus, Emily is missing."   
"She was headed to pick up her boyfriend Roger yesterday, oh god I hadn't even," before she could get further in her worry, Jake reached back and gripped her hand.   
"I'm sure she's fine, I'm just…worried is all. We'll find out."   
Heather smiled, it was a shy smile, like she couldn’t quite believe he was paying attention to her. "I don't know how you stay so calm, and have everyone following you so easily,” she whispered, she was in awe of him at times.  
He chuckled, deep from his stomach, "If it makes you feel better, I'm afraid of three day old baby, so how you handle a dozen or so six year olds at a time boggles my mind."   
Heather laughed at that, "It certainly does take a skill. We both have our gifts, don't we?"   
"How are you at fixing cars?"   
"All right, my dad taught me a few things, why?"   
Before he could answer town hall came into view, Jake pulled himself up using the steering wheel in front of him and hobbled down the stairs, ready to give direction.   
"Whoa, whoa, people, don't get off the bus, I'm sorry we can't take you!" Eric called his hands up in a halting motion.   
"Eric, what the hell?" Jake demanded.   
"They can't come in Jake, I'm sorry."   
"What do you mean?" He said in confusion, he could feel Heather standing behind him, one of her hands on his shoulder.  
Eric shook his head, "I'm sorry, we're at capacity, anymore and everyone will suffocate."   
"I've got a whole bus load of people who need shelter!"   
April stepped up with the incubator, "Are you really going to turn all these people away, Eric? Turn your wife away?!"   
Eric sighed, "We can take ten people, and I saved a spot for you," he replied trying desperately not to glare at her.   
Jake realized something and looked at Gray, "Gray, how many people will the salt mines hold?"   
Gray shrugged, "As many as you want, but do you really think that's a good idea?"   
Jake held up his hand, "It has ventilation right, and water?"   
"Well…yeah but--"   
Jake looked back at his brother and April, "Pick the ten most critical, they stay here, everyone else goes to the mines. We have to leave right now! Hurry!"   
"Jake!" His mother called from the building.   
"Where's Abi?"   
"Gracie Lee has her, have you seen your father, he was supposed to get the people from the church?"   
Jake shook his head, "No, sorry, mom I have to go, we have to head to the mines."   
"Are you crazy?!"  
Gray interrupted, "The church got back twenty minutes ago, and he wasn't with them."   
"Eric!?" Gail asked her younger son.   
Eric held up his hands again, "Mom, we'll find him, I promise. Jake, leave me ten people and go to the mines."   
"Make it 11," Shep offered, "Twenty-seven years no one knows that place like me."   
Gray nodded, "Twelve, I should be there too."   
"Let's go!" he shouted. As he sat back down next to Heather, she gripped his bicep.   
"We're going to be okay."   
He nodded, because he really wanted to believe that. His mind went to Abi, she deserved better than this. She deserved to live in a world that was safe. He couldn't give her that now. All he could do was fight every moment of the day to ensure she remained safe and that his parents remained safe. "You're worried about the baby?" Jake nodded, amazed at how perceptive Heather was. Then again she had to watch children all day. "Is she yours?"   
Jake knew on some level Heather was trying to distract him until they got to the mine, "Yes and no, a friend of mine and his wife's daughter, but they both died and left me her guardian."   
"Sounds like they have a world of faith in you."   
"Yeah," he murmured.   
Heather's brow creased at his response, "Why do you seem upset at that?"   
"Because people aren't safe around me," he replied and before she could ask any further questions he shot out of his seat as they stopped at the mines.   
Gray, Shep and Jake were the first three off, "I can get twelve people down the elevator at a time, is that okay?" Gray asked.   
Jake shrugged, "It's all we can do; now we need to figure out how to seal the entrance."   
Shep shook his head, "Mines don't exactly come with built in doors, Jake."   
"I know…but if the rain pours it these people won't be safe," then another horrifying thought came to mind, "You guys have dynamite for blasting right."   
"Whoa, whoa," Gray held up his hands in shock, while Shep turned a shade or two lighter at those words. "Are you crazy, we could bring the whole mine down on us!"   
Jake nodded, "I know the danger, Gray, but what other choices to we have, look," he stepped up to the entrance, pointing at three separate spots, "If we put dynamite in these three spots, it should be enough to collapse the entrance without causing a cave in."   
Gray looked over at Shep, the man nodded, "He's right, it's all we got."   
"Fine, I'll finish getting everyone in, Shep help him set up the explosives."   
Jake held the walkie back to his mouth, "Eric?"   
"Yeah?"   
"Any sign of dad?"   
"None, we've checked almost everywhere. We're going through town hall now. How are things at the mine?"   
Jake sighed and took a calming breath, "Eric, I'm about to do something incredibly stupid, so please…please hear me out."   
"Jake?"   
"You're going to have to bring a crew over here, when this storm is over and dig us out."   
"Whoa….wait why?"   
Jake could hear his brother's fear and concern, "Because we have to shut off the cave. Listen, Eric if this doesn't work--"  
"Stop it."   
"Eric please, tell mom and dad--"   
"Damn it Jake, it'll work fine, just…do it."   
Jake nodded, feeling slightly reassured, "I have to go, they're ready, go find dad, okay?"   
"I will," the unspoken love was clear in Eric's answer as Jake hurried back to the mouth of the cave, he began attaching the necessary wires to rig the dynamite in the far corner, he glanced over at Shep, his stomach churning, the man looked equally as terrified as him. "Shep, take some of that out, no more than two sticks, we're sealing the entrance, no cave ins today."   
Shep glanced at him and nodded, the corner of his mouth going up in a reassuring smile. Jake nodded, and looked back over to see Heather coming down the stairs. "Where'd you learn how to do this?"   
"Knew a guy once," Jake lied, his thoughts going to Afghanistan.   
Her brows creased, "Did you blow him up?"   
Jake chuckled as she headed down the stairs into the cave, "How's this look?" Shep asked Jake.  
"Can anyone hear me?" a crackled voice came over the radio  
"That's good," Jake replied not hearing it, "Gray?"   
"Last few people coming in now."   
"Can you hear me, is anyone there?" Again, Emily's voice crackled over the radio.   
Jake's head shot up, "Everyone shut up!" He yelled, he grabbed the walkie talkie.  
"This is Emily Sullivan, I'm at the Richmond ranch, there are men with guns here, I think they killed the sheriff! Please someone."   
"Emily!?" he called into the radio, but received no response. "Damn it, Shep, gimme your keys."   
"Are you crazy, it's about to storm any second!"   
"I know! But I can make it, I can't let her die!" he shouted, his memory of seeing Chris dead would haunt him forever. He couldn't let the same thing happen to Emily.   
Shaking his head, Shep tossed him the keys and headed down into the mine with everyone else. Gray however, reached out stopping the young man, "You're out of your mind, Jake."   
"Gray, just get everyone down there!" He started to head back up towards the top.   
"Jake!"   
"What!?" Jake demanded, whirling around, for a minute as he watched Gray pull the gun he felt sick, then the gun was tossed to him.   
"Thanks, when everyone's down, say all clear."   
"Yeah, be careful," with that Gray headed back down into the mine as well.   
Jake made his way out of the mine, towards the truck. He connected all the final wires to the fuse box and waited, each second ticking off another moment of Emily's life. "Jake, all clear!"   
Without a second's hesitation he pushed down the trigger and watched the explosion, before he turned to the truck and drove off like crazy. He couldn’t loose Emily, they weren’t close anymore and she probably hated him, but Jonah would burn the town down if something happened to her.  
o0o  
Emily was growing frantic as she tried to remain hidden in the front of the police car, "Is anybody there, there are men here with guns. I think they might have killed the sheriff, please someone help us!" as she reached to change to the next channel she heard banging from the back of the car. She hurried to the back of the car and opened the trunk, to reveal both deputies. She gaped at them as they tried to wiggle free of their bonds.   
Reaching out she pulled the duct tape from Jimmy's mouth, "Run Emily!"   
Before she could however, shots rang out. She ducked down, as the two officer hurried to free themselves of their bonds. Holding the revolver she'd grabbed from the frame earlier she stepped out to see Roy coming forward, gripping Bonnie.   
If anything happened to Bonnie, Stanley would kill her. She held her gun up, with every intention of killing him. "Stop!" she screamed, "Don't you dare hurt her!"   
Roy looked at her, "I don't want to hurt no one, all we wanted was gas," he reasoned knowing his partner was sneaking around to the back of the car. "All we want is supplies, this is just about fuel."   
"Please let her go!" Emily's hands shook with fear and anger. Bonnie looked terrified, only able to read half the conversation, Emily tried her best to show all her thoughts and feelings through her eyes. Her hands clinched tighter around the butt of the gun as Roy pulled out the sheriff's gun and put it against Bonnie's head slowly. Before he could do anything further another shot rang out, killing the other gunman, Roy looked over to his friend drop, releasing the girl he started shooting towards Jake, he noticed April looking over her shoulder her gun still poised at him, so he took his shot. Another shot rang out right as his did, hitting him square in the chest as he dropped to the ground.   
Jake grabbed Bonnie who had run straight to him and the two deputies, "Bonnie," he said grabbing her attention by waving his hand, "Get them to the storm cellar, now!" he shouted. The wind was kicking up worse with each second.   
She nodded and hurried away. Jake meanwhile moved over to April, but what he'd been expecting was not this, "NO!" he screamed as he dropped to his knees beside her, a bullet in her chest, just below her heart. He could hear the hissing as the air escaped her lungs. "No," he whispered. "I was…just trying to keep you safe," he sobbed, he couldn’t think, couldn’t move. An ache in his chest had developed and was getting worse and worse.   
"No one's…ever safe around you," she sneered before her eyes dulled. He felt sick, completely sick. A pair of hands grabbed him just under his arms and he was hauled away from the dead body of his former fiancée, he couldn't think, he tried to struggle, screaming as he fought all the way as he was all but hauled into the storm cellar.   
He was shoved down the stairs and into the cellar, the door shut harshly behind them. "Jake!" Stanley grabbed his best friend in his arms; Jake's legs gave out as he collapsed into his best friend's arms and chest and sobbed.   
"She's dead," he cried.   
Stanley looked from Jimmy and Bill who looked devastated, to Bonnie who had tears running down her eyes. He opened one of his arms out to her, and held her close as the two cried. He held his best friend, the boy he’d grown up with, the man he loved like a brother, just letting him cry it out.   
It was silent except for his occasional cries, the two deputies looked at one another, Bonnie had pulled away from her brother and handed Stanley a blanket. Stanley wrapped it around Jake, who had grown quiet; he now just sat on the stairs, staring at the ground. “Can we try and get someone on the walkie-talkie?” Stanley asked.   
Jimmy handed it to him, Stanley took it and pushed the button, “Anyone there?”   
“This is Eric, Stanley?”   
Stanley sighed, thankful to hear from a friend, “Yeah man, look we’re all here under the Richmond farm, me, Bonnie, Jimmy, Bill and your brother.”   
“I thought Emily was supposed to be with you,” Eric replied.   
Stanley looked over at his best friend, who was still just sitting there, “Em’s dead, Eric,” he replied quietly. “She was shot by one of the fugitives.”   
“Jesus,” Eric whispered, on his end he was watching April tend to his dad, whose flu was clearly not getting any better. “Is Jake okay?” He could remember how infatuated Jake and Emily had been.  
Stanley paused and glanced back at his best friend, “I don’t think so. Listen, I saw some tanks on my way back from getting the livestock put away, headed up towards Denver.”   
“How many?” Eric asked in response.   
“Five maybe, they were over the ridge, I was on Fars Mill road near I-70.”  
To his surprise, Jake finally spoke up, “Where’s dad?” his voice was just loud enough to hear over the pour rain that kept beating against the shelter door.   
Stanley handed the radio to his best friend, “You want some water?” Stanley asked.   
Jake just shook his head, he didn’t look any less numb as he accepted the radio, “Where’s dad?” He repeated his question from earlier.   
“I’m here son,” the deep reassuring voice sounded almost as tired as his. He sat there quietly for a moment, “You okay?”   
“Ahh hell, probably not, I have the flu. And I’ve held Abigail twice, so now I’m worried I might have given it to yer little girl.” Johnston sighed, but it sounded more like a struggling wheeze.   
“I’m sure she’ll be fine, so will you. Dad, Stanley saw a line of tanks near I-70,” Jake compartmentalized the situation, his town, his people came first, but the ache of Emily was awful.   
“Well, there’s a national guard unit to the southwest there in Goodland, maybe it’s a relief effort,” reasoned Johnston, he was getting tired, his energy quickly being sapped from him.   
“We need to get out there and see,” Jake explained.   
Johnston shook his head, “That could be dangerous, son,” he looked over to see April cuddling the baby who was crying rather loudly now.   
“Is that Abi?”   
Johnston smiled, typical dad, “Yes, she’s running a small fever, I’m sorry.”   
“It’s okay dad,” Jake replied, but his heart hammered in his chest about loosing that little girl. “I’ll talk to you once the rain passes, but we can’t sit around and wait to find out what’s happening. See you soon,” Jake muttered.   
“Take care son.”  
o0o  
When the rain finally stopped, the group looked up at the ceiling; Jake was the first one out of the door. He probably should’ve known better, but all reasoning left him as he dropped down beside her body. His hands shook as he reached out towards her body, wiping her hair away from her beautiful face. “No,” he whimpered again.   
“She could be radioactive,” Bill mentioned.   
Stanley looked over at Bill, he didn’t know if he had the heart to pull his best friend away from her. Jake raised the radio back to his lips, “Eric, I’m sending Bill and Jimmy to the mine, meet them there to dig those people out.”   
“Okay, what about you?”   
Stanley took the radio, “We’re headed to the clinic Jake may have just made himself radioactive.”   
Jake had bent down, lifting the body into his arms, he hugged her close, pressing his cheek to her damp forehead. “Come on Jake, lets get her into the truck, we’ll drive you both to the med clinic.” He offered to help, but Jake jerked away from Stanley as he limped to the truck and put her body into the truck, he pulled himself into the back of the truck next to her and just lay down beside her.   
Stanley looked over at his sister, who looked terrified and concerned; she stared at her brother as they got into the truck and headed off towards town. Stanley considered his best friend, yes he was worried for the man, but more than anything he felt heartache for the friend they’d both lost today. Emily had always been the third part of the three musketeers. He hadn’t loved her like Jake, but he’d certainly loved her like a sister and it broke his heart to think she was gone now. He hadn’t even realized he was crying, until he felt his sister’s smaller hand on his. Glancing over at her, to see tears falling down her cheeks as well, he turned his hand so he could grip her hand tight. 

April sighed as she looked down at the tiny wiggling baby, her little body flushed, and her cheeks red with a fever as she kept wailing. She sighed heavily as she continued to try and cool the baby’s body down. “She’s got the flu too, doesn’t she?” Johnston asked from where he sat in one of the chairs. He too was pale, sweat on his brow from his own fever. “I got her ill by holding her.”   
“Sweetheart, these things happen,” Gail reasoned, but she was equally as nervous as Johnston was. Their first granddaughter was already sicker than Johnston it seemed, and it had happened in a matter of hours.   
“She’s sick, I’m not entirely sure it’s the flu, but, unfortunately it may be. Johnston, she’s a baby she has a low immune system anyway because she hasn’t been able to drink her mother’s breast milk to build up the antibodies. This isn’t your fault; she could’ve gotten it from anyone.”   
“I need help please!” Stanley’s voice broke their attention away from everyone.   
“Stanley, what’s going on?” Johnston asked, as he stood, he was exhausted, he was scared he’d just sentenced his only granddaughter to death and now the individual who should’ve been with his son was nowhere near his son.   
“I…I can’t get him to let her go,” he offered.   
Gail’s eyes widened and she rushed out the door, followed by Johnston, April looked at Stanley, then back down at the baby in the small bassinette, “Stanley, get Bonnie to stay with Abi.”   
Stanley looked confused, “Uh, who is she?”   
“She’s your niece, Jake’s daughter, please just do it, I need to be out there.”   
Stanley just nodded and followed her out to get Bonnie, Bonnie caught sight of him around the hallway and saw him sign come please. She hurried around the corner towards the hospital room with the baby, “This is Abi, she’s running a fever, can you stay with her while we take care of Jake?”   
Bonnie nodded, signing back the question of who she belonged to, her eyes widened when she saw him sign Jake’s ASL sign. Before she could ask further question Stanley hurried out to the back of the hospital where Jake and Emily lay in the truck bed.   
“Son,” Gail called, she was stroking her son’s dark hair, and her heart broke at the sight of him just rocking back and forth as he held his ex-finance. “Sweetheart, we need you to let her go, we need to take care of her.”   
“Does he have radiation poisoning?” Johnston asked, watching his wife continue to pet their son’s hair.   
April used the old Geiger counter and shook her head, “I think we got lucky on this. I’m not getting any indication of radiation; he still needs to take a shower, and we’ll keep an eye on him over the next few hours.” She reached out and pulled her brother-in-law’s chin up to look at him, she’d always liked her older brother-in-law she had a bit of a soft spot for him. “Hey, Jake, I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be, but your little girl needs you now. Let us take care of Emily, okay.”   
She saw the chocolate eyes meet her own, and a flicker of recognition and understanding, he was lost, but reachable. His fingers uncurled from around her and he let her go, she was already wrapped in his blanket and gently carried off the truck. “Come on honey,” Gail grabbed her son’s upper arms and helped maneuver off the back of the truck; he was clearly struggling to walk on his injured leg. “Lets get you into the shower, and then you can go see your daughter.”   
Johnston studied his daughter-in-law over his son’s head; she looked devastated as well, but was keeping her cool. Gail helped Jake into the building, towards the showers. “Is he safe?”   
“The probability of him getting severe radiation poisoning from her is slim, while I do believe in being safe, I think there’s probably little chance in this case. I hate to say this we probably should burn the…body,” she whispered.   
Johnston sighed, “I don’t know if I remember how to deal with a broken hearted kid,” Johnston muttered as they carried her body to an empty room. April quickly gave instructions to an orderly to put a do not enter on the door.   
Gail helped Jake into the locker room, Jake stopped, “Mom, I can undress myself,” he corrected.   
“Right, except you’re barely walking on your own, I’m your mother it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”   
“I’m fine,” he replied.   
“Jake—”  
“I said I’m fine!” he shouted, causing Gail to jump and back off slightly. Jake backed up against a wall, his legs giving out as he slid down the wall and buried his face in his hands. “Sorry,” he moaned.   
Gail felt the lump in her throat as she moved over to her son, and knelt down before him, her hands on his jeans, “I’m sorry, I’ve been a bit overbearing lately haven’t I,” Gail whispered as she rubbed his legs.   
“She hated me, her last words to me was no one was ever safe around her,” he murmured, his voice vacant and filled with sorrow. “I’ve ruined that entire family’s life,” he buried his face in his hands and sobbed.   
She pulled his head to her shoulder and neck and held him, fingers through his hair, just holding him as he cried for the lost love of his life. She felt his shaking body, as sob after sob wracked his body, as let go of the past hurts he’d gone through. “Shh, I know baby, I’m here,” she hummed as she continued to kissing his temple and rocking him.   
After a few minutes she felt his breathing even back out, “I’m sorry,” he murmured. She smiled and simply shook her head.   
“You have got nothing to be sorry for, it’s been a rough few days on us all, come on lets get you up and washed.”   
“I…I think my leg went numb, I can’t get up,” he grimaced as he tried to stand, to get it working. He sighed and looked at his mother, “Guess you will have to help me undress.”   
She chuckled softly, “Tell you what you do what you can, and I’ll turn my back, tell me if and when you get to a point you need me, otherwise just put a towel on and I’ll help you into the shower.”   
“Thanks,” he replied. As promised she turned away, while he started to strip, sitting on the bench for support and balance.   
“Abi is running a small fever, April’s going to try a few different things she said, but sounds like we’re limited in what we can give her.”   
“What about Rogue River?” Jake questioned as he removed his final layer and stood, he groaned, but held out his hand, “I’m fine.”   
“As long as you’re sure.”  
“I am, I can run to the next town over to be safe, probably can get something for dad too.”   
She sighed, “We’ll discuss it with April. You know when you were a little boy, five or six you got it into your head that you could shower on your own like daddy.”   
Jake peaked out of the shower, “I don’t remember that.”   
She chuckled, “You wouldn’t you cracked your head on the shower stall because you slipped. About scared the hell out of your father and I, we thought you’d died.”   
Jake snickered from in the shower, a moment later his hand reached out and grabbed a clean fresh towel, and he stepped out of the shower, looking a bit better. “Guess I’m tough to kill.”   
“Thank god,” Gail whispered her voice thick from emotion.   
Jake leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be in to see Abi in a minute mom, you can go.”   
“I’m being dismissed am I,” she smiled, despite clearly feeling closer to crying, “Do you need something for your leg?”   
“Nah, water made it a bit better,” Jake lied, he’d be damned if he was going to take an ounce of medication away from people who needed it. He waited until she left and he sat down heavily, massaging his leg, it looked red and angry, he hoped he wasn’t getting infected. He pulled on a pair of scrubs from a nearby clean pile and hurried got dressed.   
He jumped as he ran headlong into Heather, grabbing her by her waist as he nearly knocked her over. “Jake!” she gasped, realizing who it was she threw her arms around his arms. “I was so scared when you weren’t helping us out of the cave!”   
He smiled and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered.   
“I’m fine, what about you; you look a bit stiff, are you all right?”  
Jake paused and realized he needed to tell her the truth, he dropped his hand down to her hand and pulled her back into the locker room, he sat them both down on the benches, “I found Emily.”   
Heather smiled, but then the smile fell to sadness, “I get the sense that since she’s not here, she didn’t make it?”   
“No,” he replied quietly, “She was…shot. I’m so sorry, Heather.”   
Tears welled up in her beautiful blue eyes as she nodded, taking the information in, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, drawing her close. The two sat there quietly for several minutes. Jake’s mind went to Emily’s father; she’d have to tell Jonah, that was a conversation he very well may not come out alive from. Jonah already blamed him for Chris’ death five years ago. “She was right,” Jake whispered.   
“What?”   
“She said no one is safe around me, and she was right,” he mumbled. He was going to get people killed here; all because he thought he was some hero now. He’d never been a hero, just a screw up.  
“Jake,” Heather began.   
He shook his head, standing he moved towards the doors, his head bowed, “Tell…tell my mom I’m sorry,” he whispered, with that he hurried out of the room, limping the entire way.   
“Jake!” she cried, but he was gone. Heather hurried out of the room and down the hallway in the other direction, fearing the absolute worst, “Mr. Green!” she shouted as she spotted him in a room, “Mr. Green!” tears ran down her pale cheeks. “I…I think Jake is going to do something stupid.”   
“What?” Gail and Johnston both said as they stood, Stanley and Bonnie were both still in the room with the baby, they’d been discussing what had happened to bring the baby to Jake.  
“He…he was explaining about Emily…and he seemed to suddenly get really upset, then…then he said she was right he wasn’t safe and he ran off…well limped off is actually more accurate and he said to tell his mother he was sorry.”  
“Jesus Christ,” growled Johnston as he ran past the girl, Stanley and Gail hot on his heels. April looked over at Bonnie and signed for her to stay if she didn’t mind, once she’d confirmed she didn’t she followed the family, “Come on Heather,” they both left as quickly as they could.  
Despite his lungs being on fire, and feeling hot all over, Johnston was certain he’d never run so fast in all his life, he knew his boy was hurting, and maybe it was time to clear some of that air. But he couldn’t let his son walk out into a world like this. Reaching his house, he burst into the house, “Jake!” He cried, “Jake!” his lungs finally gave out and he bent over coughing, just in time for Gail to arrive.   
“You’re going to kill yourself running around like that,” she huffed.   
“Jake!” Stanley cried as he hurried up the stairs past his surrogate family. The Greens had always been good to him when his parents had died. He couldn’t watch their eldest son self destruct like this.   
“He’s not here,” wheezed Johnston, one single face popped into his mind, his son was going to make amends…and it would probably cost him his damn life. “He’s going to see Jonah.”  
Gail and April both paled at the thought of that, as Stanley came back down the stairs, he confirmed what they all knew already. “Who’s Jonah?” Heather asked from where she stood in the doorway.   
“Emily’s father,” Stanley replied quietly as he sat down on the steps. “I’m sorry, I should’ve done more, I should’ve stayed with him.”   
“This isn’t your fault, Stanley,” Johnston waved the boy off, “You’re not his keeper, damn it. We have to go get him back.”   
“So that you can get killed too!” Gail snapped, her eyes were red, and her heart broken at the idea that her son had felt it was necessary to apologize for this.   
Johnston shook his head, “Gail, he walked out that door five years ago and about damn near broke your heart and this whole family. So yes, if that’s what it takes, I’m going to get our boy back!” He looked at Stanley, “Get your gun, we’re leaving now, find Eric, we’ll need him too.”   
o0o  
Jake arrived on the outskirts of the town, where Jonah had kept his little clan of wayward idiots for the last ten years. Jonah was leaning over a car, fixing something. Jake took a step closer to the front gates, before two thugs stepped in front of him. “I’m here to see Jonah, I…it’s about Emily,” he whispered.   
“Let him in,” Jonah barked from under the car, he stood up straight, glaring at the man, “Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. You come to put another one of my boys in jail or in the ground?”  
Jake felt his stomach roll at the words, knowing what he had to tell the man wasn’t going to go over well. “Emily’s dead…Jonah.” His voice was rough as he whispered the words. He watched the eyes go from interested to deadly cold in seconds. Jonah grew close to Jake, who just stood there, much like he had in military school years earlier.   
As a boy, this close a proximity to the former ex-con would've had him shaking in his boots, now all he wanted to be pounded into the ground. He wanted to be punished for what had happened. He had ruined this man's entire family, he deserved no less. Jonah was mere inches away from his face, "How?" his deep gravelly voice unsettling.   
"She…she was killed by an escaped prisoner in a shoot out, I'm sorry, I wasn't…I wasn't quick enough," he answered.   
He nodded, his face perfectly blank, and that's what Jake knew would be the end of him, "So not only did you get my son killed, but you killed my little girl too," he sneered at Jake.   
Jake eyes slid closed in defeat, a tear slipping down his cheek, "I'm so sorry," he whispered.   
Jonah nodded, Jake didn't even have time to react as Jonah drove a fist right into his stomach, dropping Jake to the ground like a ton of bricks, all the air having left his lungs. Then a fist full of his hair was grabbed and a knee slammed into his face, he tasted rather than saw the woosh of blood from his nose and mouth. Stars were beginning to dance in his vision, two more fists to the side of the face, and then several hits to his ribs. Jake was seconds away from glorious darkness when he heard another familiar bark out, followed by the crack of a gun, then his eyes slid shut.   
Johnston was just in time to see his son get pounded twice into the ground and three more times into the left side, where he already had three cracked ribs. "Jonah!" he shouted, before he held up his shotgun and shot it into the air. Stanley kept his own shotgun trained on Jonah and his men, while Johnston walked over to his son, the boy was a bloody mess, literally, unconscious. "It was an accident, Jonah," he offered quietly, "You know that."   
"Get him out of my sight, Green, and I promise if I ever see him near me again, you'll be mourning a son."   
Johnston sighed, but nodded, Eric, who had been following behind his father, grabbed his brother's jacket and drug him backwards, until both he and Stanley could lift him into the truck together. "Thank you, and I am really sorry, Jonah," Johnston said, lowering the barrel of his gun slightly.   
Jonah's face gave way to pain as he looked down and nodded, "Can…can I come get her?"   
Johnston nodded, Just you, but I can arrange it, as long as you promise not to cause any trouble."   
"You have my word," Jonah whispered.   
Johnston backed away slowly and then eventually turned his back on the man to climb into his truck, he heaved a painful sigh through his congested lungs, his own eyes welling with tears over what he'd just seen. "Dad?" Eric asked. "You okay?"   
Johnston nodded, before turning the truck around and heading back home, "I didn't think I'd ever see the day when your brother gave up."   
Gail was horrified when Eric and Stanley came into the house, carrying her unconscious son. They'd brought Abigail home in the meanwhile got her settled upstairs, Bonnie was upstairs caring for her, trying to keep her cool along with April. "April!" Gail cried as they carried him upstairs to his old bedroom. "What happened?"   
"He went to Jonah, and told him about Emily," Johnston answered his voice dismal and miserable. "We got lucky, Jonah even let us leave with him alive." He wasn't sure if he fully understood why Jonah had let him leave, perhaps because the man wanted to mourn his child in peace. Johnston couldn't imagine losing both his children. He glanced at Eric in the corner of the room as April started assessing Jake's condition, then back to Jake. He would never forget that horrible night when he'd gotten the phone call, he was sure it'd be the sheriff telling him his eldest was dead.   
He was startled to feel Gail's arms wrap around his middle, he looked down in her tearful eyes, and realized his likely reflected the same. He hugged her close, pressing a kiss to her head. "Why don't you lie down for a bit, you've run yourself ragged today," she suggested.   
For once he couldn't disagree, he was too exhausted, so he nodded and together the husband and wife headed into their bedroom. Stanley looked over at his sister, signing it was time to go. She nodded, giving the baby a final snuggle before heading off with her brother. Eric just sat down heavily in a nearby chair. "Where'd Heather go?" he questioned.   
"She went to tell Emily's aunt, she said she'd come by tomorrow," April shook her head, her own eyes were burning with tears, though she was fairly certain the rush of emotions she was currently feeling were more due to the baby she was expecting and little Abi, but still. She took a slow calming breath and looked at her husband, "I'd really like to stay here for the next few nights to keep an eye on everyone, is that okay?"   
"Of course, I'll go get some stuff for you, I'll probably stay too, I'll be back in an hour or two," he dropped a kiss to the top of his wife's head, before leaving the room.   
April turned back to her patient, to see two chocolate, anguish filled eyes staring back at her. She tried to offer him a smile, but it ended up closer to a grimace, "I really want to hate you," she whimpered.  
"Shouldn't be a problem, everyone should," he muttered.   
"You're an idiot if you think that's true," she hissed back at him, before standing and looking away from him. She squeezed her eyes closed in effort to stave off more tears. "I've watched your mother and father struggle without you for nearly five years! Do you know what you did to them!" She snapped, god she knew it was the pregnancy but she couldn't stop herself. "Do you know how much it hurt to get phone call after phone call, only to realize it wasn't you on the phone!" Shaking her head she whirled around at him again. "And now, you're finally back, and to top it off you've got this beautiful little girl, you do realize that right now you're her entire world, don't you!"   
He didn't say anything, he just let her unleash, he deserved it. He looked at her, waiting for her to continue, "You're her everything and you're going to be her everything as she grows up, and yet one person dies, and I'm sorry for that, I really am! But damn it Jacob, your daughter comes first you stupid selfish sonofabitch! And what about your mother! That woman looks at you like you hung the damn stars! Don't you understand that you're always going to be her baby boy!?"   
"She isn't safe around me, no one is," he warned her, finally speaking.   
"News flash Jake! None of us are safe, don't you get that. The whole world has changed, people are going to die," suddenly all the fight left her and she sat down at the end of his bed and shook her head. "Your dad was the worst though, because he wanted to believe you were about being stupid, or getting into trouble. He had to reassure your mother every call, but all the while he looked so defeated, so exhausted, because he missed you too." She reached out, caressing his undamaged cheek, "We all missed you. So don't you dare give up and run away again, not after getting all our hopes up."   
Grimacing as he tried to sit up, Jake pulled her into his arms as she cried in his arms. He rocked her back and forth slightly, before pulling away again, "I'm sorry, I had to tell him and I had to be prepared for him to…"   
"I know, but you're back, and your baby needs you, we all need you Jake, please."   
He nodded, "You're right, I've been selfish, is she still running a fever?"   
April stood and moved over to the crib, pulling the cranky baby out of the bed, she sat down next to Jake on the bed, handing her over. Jake smiled as he took her into his arms with more ease than he had before. He could feel her fever, "It's improving some, but still a bit high for her, it's about 99," April offered as she tickled one of the little feet.   
Abi scrunched up her face, and tried pulled her feet away from the touch, she reached out to her daddy, gripping his shirt in her tiny fist. "Hey, you're all right, daddy's here now," he offered, "I'm sorry for running off," he spoke, as if he was talking to the baby, but April knew she was talking to her so he didn't have to look at April.   
"I panicked…I think…I think I like Heather," he finally admitted.   
April smiled, "She's certainly interested in you," she replied giggling. "Look, Emily meant a lot to you, and I understand, I really do. But truthfully the two of you moved on romantically years ago. Mourn your best friend, but don't guard your heart from love again." Deciding Jake had probably had enough of her for the time being, she went back to fixing up his cuts and bruises.   
Meanwhile, Jake just sat there and stared into the big eyes that were rapidly getting darker, her once wrinkled face was smoother now, she was more aware of her surroundings as her eyes grew wider when images came in or out of her viewpoint. He chuckled she met his eyes, he held her up to his face and pressed a gentle kiss to her little nose. April decided to leave him with his daughter for now.   
When Gail and April returned they both had to giggle over the adorable picture of father fast asleep on the couch, with the baby on her belly, tucked right up again to his lips, one hand was resting carefully on her back to ensure she was still breathing and didn't shift too far. It appeared as Jake was already well on his way to sleep. "You did good today," Gail whispered as she pulled April closer.   
"Someone had to tell him," she replied. 

TBC


	3. Safety In Numbers

Chapter Three - Safety in Numbers  
It had been four days since the bombs had fallen, and one since the fall out had officially cleared. Of those days, Jake couldn't remember sleeping a single one of them. Sure, he was exhausted, and his body yearned for sleep, but every time he closed his eyes he saw the face of Emily, dead and gone. Earlier that night they'd found a man suffering radiation sickness. Now he had that stuck in his mind too.   
At the moment he was sitting downstairs in the rocking recliner, reclined back just enough with Abi lying on his chest, as she slept soundly, her breaths coming in tiny puffs against his chest. If he sat there long enough, closing his eyes and letting the warmth of the house bathe him, he'd think life was normal. That he was married to someone and living a perfectly normal life. He could imagine that he was loved by both of his parents, rather than adored by his mother and tolerated by his father and brother. He could pretend that he hadn't just watched a childhood friend die.   
He looked down at the infant in his arms, brushing his fingers over her dark hair and sighed, "I'm sorry, Abi. You deserved better than this," he murmured as he pressed his lips to her hair. "Course if Anna had sent you to her families, you'd be gone," that thought made his heart ache in a way he wasn't sure he understood. A tight feeling restricting his lungs as he tried to breathe through the idea that she'd be gone before she'd even had a chance to truly live.   
Closing his eyes, he took a few minutes to enjoy the feeling over her little body against his, heart beating, breathing deeply in sleep. "I love you," he whispered before he slowly drifted off into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in ages.   
That's how Johnston and Gail found their son the next morning, Gail grinned at the sight of the newborn snuggled up close to her daddy, tiny fists clinched in his shirt. Johnston had to admit, while he might had thought his son was a bit of a screw up. He was certainly trying to be a decent father to Abigail.   
A knock at the door startled Johnston's from his thoughts, and jolted Jake from his sleep, while he was glancing around, trying to gather himself, Johnston moved to the front door. "Good morning, Mr. Green," Heather greeted.  
"Heather, to what do we owe the pleasure?" He asked stepping back and allowing the young woman to hobble in.   
"I was actually looking for Jake," her faced spotted the man who was presently standing now, holding an infant in his arms. She lit up like a Christmas tree, and Johnston had to bite his lip at the sight, the woman was clearly quite taken by his son.  
"Hey, everything all right?" Jake questioned as he came over.   
"Kinda, there's a situation at the medical center, they're generators are running out of gas," she explained, she looked at the baby, studying the infant's features. "Anyway, I was hoping you might have some ideas on how we could suction the gas from the gas station."   
Jake nodded, "I'm sure I can come up with something, my mom's making breakfast…did you want to stay?"   
"Oh…Uh…" she started to stammer, but Johnston stopped her short with a hand on her shoulder.   
"We insist, come on," Johnston reassured, before he smirked and headed into the kitchen.   
Jake blushed slightly before he looked down at his daughter then back to Heather, "You two never really got properly introduced, did you," he smiled. Heather followed him over to the couch where he took a seat, and she followed suit. He held Abi up, she opened her dark brown eyes and looked blearily at her daddy. "Abi, this is Ms. Heather, Heather, meet my daughter Abi," he passed her over to Heather, who was all too happy to hold the infant.   
"She's beautiful, Jake," Heather cooed.   
Jake nodded, "So was her mother."  
Heather looked up, and saw the remorse in his eyes, "Did she…I'm sorry Jake."   
"It's all right, Anna wasn't my girlfriend or wife. She was actually the wife of a close friend of mine. I…I promised when he died I'd take care of them. Turns out you can't protect someone from giving birth," he whispered. He looked down, and smiled as Heather gripped his hand.   
"I think caring for the baby is a wonderful way to keep your promise to your friends," she assured him.   
"Thanks, anyway she's a great baby, barely ever cries, and she seems to get along better with my parents than I do," he chuckled. "So what did you have in mind for the gas?"   
"Well if we have a funnel and something to hold the gas in we could siphon it."   
"How about a water pump, we've got an old hand water pump somewhere."   
"That would be perfect, actually."  
Jake nodded, "I'll go get Stanley, we can use his truck to find something to carry it in," Jake stood, "Mom!" he called.   
"I'm old, Jacob, not deaf. What?"   
He took the baby from Heather and handed the baby to his mother, "We're going to go take care of the gas for the generators, I promise we'll do dinner tonight," he swore, pressing a kiss to her cheek, before he too started limping out after the beautiful woman.   
Gail turned and found Johnston grinning like the cat that ate the canary, "What are you staring at?"   
Stepping forward, he pulled his wife close and kissed her lips, before kissing the baby's forehead, "I think our boy might be smitten."   
"Well, if he's anything like his daddy, it'll take him ages to figure it out," Gail chuckled, before gazing at her granddaughter, "Are you hungry pumpkin?"   
o0o  
As Jake drove out towards the farms, he looked over at Heather, "Emily used to talk to you, ya know," Heather offered.   
"God that couldn't have been anything good," Jake chuckled.   
"Can I ask if it's weird coming back?"   
Jake nodded, "Very, truthfully, I hadn't intended on staying, my dad and I…we don't exactly see eye to eye, I guess." Jake's mind went to those horrible days before he'd left. "I'm kind of just a giant disappointment to him, really."   
"Oh, I'm sorry," Heather replied, she smiled sadly, "My parents and I didn't exactly see eye to eye either. They wanted me to grow up to marry a farmer. Here I am, thirty-two and haven't married anyone yet, then when I left the city…I haven't been back for awhile, I miss them but they always preferred my older sister."   
"Sometimes it almost makes me hate Eric, how much dad likes him," Jake replied.   
Heather nodded, "Yeah, exactly. I want to love my sibling, I do…but," she sighed.   
"Yeah," he muttered.   
He arrived at Stanley's, thankfully his blonde friend was already outside, "Hey, what brings you out here?" Stanley greeted, when Jake had rolled down the window.   
"We need your help," Jake explained, "Heather had an idea to use the a hand crank water pump to siphon the gas out at the gas station. But we need something to store it in, we were hoping you could find something while we try and convince them to let us take it."   
Stanley nodded, "I'll see what I can do, and meet you out there with my truck. Need anything else?"   
"Power," Heather joked with a smile.  
The two men chuckled and nodded, "All right, I'll be happy to help, but then you two and me are spending the evening at Bailey's," he grinned.   
"Deal," they both chuckled. "We'll see you at the gas station."   
It was twenty minutes later when Jake and Heather stood at the gas station, talking to Murthy, who was repeatedly declining the answer. "It's no use to anyone Mr. Murthy, without the electricity, the pumps don't even work. It's just sitting there going to waste," Jake explained.   
"And we'll leave you an IOU for the 500 gallons," Heather offered.   
Murthy shook his head, "I could be fire," he reasoned.   
Jake sighed, hand over his face, "With all due respect, who's gonna fire you, come on Mr. Murthy. We're trying to save people."  
The man sighed as he knelt down to open the holes for the gas, "They're never coming back, no one are they?"  
Reaching out, Jake squeezed the man's shoulder, "I'm sorry."   
The man stood and nodded, "Take whatever you need, you're right, church needs it more than me," he stated. He disappeared, Stanley pulled up with an old steel water tank.   
"I couldn't find an empty pesticide container, I figured this water tank might do," he explained as he hopped out of his truck to open the cap.   
"No, no we can't use steel, there's too much risk of static. One spark and the whole place could blow sky high!" Heather was shaking her head, looking panicked.   
"We don't have time to look for something else," Jake replied as he climbed on top of the truck beside his best friend.   
"Well…uh who's going to fill it then?" Heather questioned.   
Stanley and Jake looked at one another, "Do you wanna draw straws or something?"   
Jake shook his head vehemently, "You've got Bonnie to take care of, I'll do it."   
"What about Abigail, don't be a martyr!"   
"I'm not, Bonnie's all you have! Besides I was already out in the rain--"   
"I thought you said we were going to live to 100," disputed Stanley.   
Jake shook his head, "Our pacts never work out!"   
"Okay boys, let's just do this before we think it too much!" Heather snapped, shaking her head.   
"Get off the truck, Stanley," Jake gently pushed him off the truck, "all right lets go," he put the hose inside and started the pump. Once they'd taken everything they could, they headed towards the medical center.   
Stanley pulled up and parked the truck while Jake and Heather jumped out of the truck. Heather climbed to the top to unseal the tank, only to find it stuck, "Guys, we've got a problem, I can't get the lid off," she climbed down, with Jake's help.   
Stanley climbed up, but Heather held up her hands in warning, "Wait!"   
"Don't feel bad, I'm just gonna loosen it," he offered.   
"No, I mean the gas has been sloshing around in there, the fumes have build up, if you force the cap and it sparks it could blow us all!"   
"Then what do you suggest?" Jake questioned.   
Before they could both answer Stanley took a crowbar and smashed it directly into the cap, popping it right off. He paused in horror, staring at it, "Wow…that was dumb," They all stared in shock for a long moment, before Jake handed Heather the hose, "put that in there, tell me when to start!"   
Heather handed it up, Stanley stuck the end of the hose into the container, "Go!"   
o0o  
They got the lights back on in the medical center, unfortunately the man had died of radiation sickness, right after referring everyone to the lake side where they found twenty people, families. Jake felt sick at the sight of several children lying dead. As he staggered near one of the bodies, he couldn't help it when dropped to his knees near them. He'd seen death millions of times in Iraq, but seeing little children, little boys and girls, it made him sick.   
He felt a hand on his shoulder, as he threw up into a nearby bush, it was Stanley, "Come on, man, let's go…check on Abi and Bonnie," Stanley gripped his best friend's upper arm and together the two headed back into town.   
That evening they had a small funeral for the twenty people who'd passed away, "You coming back to the house?" Gail questioned that evening.   
"A few of us are headed to Bailey's for a bit, I'll be home later," he encouraged, before giving her a kiss on the cheek, and a peck on his daughter's head.   
"Have fun," she wished as she watched her son catch Heather by the hand as he walked off and followed behind Stanley.   
The three of them gathered around one of the tables with the booths, "Uncle Sam! Come join us!" called Stanley a few beers in.   
"Why do you call her Uncle Sam?" Heather questioned from her spot near Jake.   
"She's from the IRS," Stanley explained.   
"Like…the audit IRS?" Jake questioned. When Stanley nodded, Jake grimaced, "Didn't go well, huh?"   
"No."   
Mimi took a seat next to Stanley, "The US government now owns his farm," She grinned before producing two sets of cards, "Want to play a game of war? I've been playing solitaire for a while now."   
o0o  
The moon had come and gone, and the four, now down one when Heather had disappeared to get ready for school, remained at the bar playing with their cards, "I'm tired of war," Jake mumbled, putting his cards down, "No one ever wins."   
"We can play something else," Mimi suggested, not able to go back to the hotel because it had closed.   
"Nah', I'm calling it a night," Jake reasoned, before he noticed sun streaming through the windows.   
"It stopped behind night hours ago, ya'll want some coffee?" Mary questioned with a soft smile.   
"Make mine an Irish," Mimi replied while Stanley and Jake simply nodded in response.   
Jake smirked, as he sipped the black coffee Mary had just places in front of him, "So Mimi, what would you be doing if you were back in DC right now?"   
She sighed heavily, clearly bothered by the question, "Sleeping. You know the hardest thing about this stupid redneck town?"   
Stanley glanced at Jake, who in turn was like thinking the fact that you're still here, but they both remained quiet for a moment, before Jake finally bit, "what?"   
"The quiet, How do you stand it? It's like my brain's a damn echo chamber," Mary handed her the Irish coffee and Mimi sipped it, enjoying the warmth as the first taste slid down the back of her throat and burned.   
Jake chuckled, "Why do you think I left," he muttered.   
"I could tell her," Jimmy grinned in response as he walked through the door of the pub.   
Mimi glanced up at him as the three men all looked down, she was missing something clearly, "What?"   
"Why Jake left town, I could tell her," Jimmy offered again coming up behind the slightly younger man.   
"Watch it Jimmy," Jake mumbled, his cheeks slightly red from being the center of the conversations.   
Mimi grinned, "Let me guess, pressure got to be too much," it sounded more like a theme to a movie.   
So Jake allowed her to bait him, "Wow," he replied, but truth was it had. It wasn't the pressure of his father being the Mayor, or even the pressure of the town expecting him to be a better man. No, it was that his father was a great man and a good judge of character, which everyone respected, and said father thought his own son's character was crap. Even as he considered it now he felt his heart constrict at the constant look of disappointment on his father's face, before he left and now that he was back.   
"I'm a people reader," Mimi replied while Jake was lost in his thoughts. "I'm betting you were Captain of the football team, Prom King and voted most likely to succeed. Am I right?"   
Jake even had to chuckle at the idea of that, he'd played about two seasons of football with Stanley before declaring he hated it, and turned to baseball. And from what he could recall he was voted most likely to go to prison.  
The others who had known him all his life chuckled at her ideas, "What? What am I missing?" She questioned.   
Stanley glanced over at his closest friend, "Didn't you beat up the Prom King?"   
Jake grinned as he nodded, "Yeah, yeah I did," he'd caught the asshole trying to strong arm a girl in the hotel into sleeping with him. The girl had been trying to say no she wasn't ready, so Jake as usual hurled himself into a situation he wasn't welcome in.   
Eric, who had come in with Jimmy was looking at his brother with a look of disapproval, the same one his father normally held. Jimmy looked over at Eric with a grin, "You must have a million stories about your brother screwing up,"   
Jake saw the shame in his brother's face as he replied, "At least that many," He replied before he moved around the bar to the other side near Mary.   
Jake watched his little brother interact with Mary and he realized he was watching his brother interact with his mistress. Grinning into his coffee, he couldn't but think for once his little brother wouldn't be the greatest thing since sliced bread in the Green house hold when the truth came out.   
Suddenly there was an odd shudder of all the lights struggling to come, before they came on and the Jukebox began to blare "Taking Care of Business" Jake covered his ears as he moved over towards the damn thing to unplug it, everyone in the same state of shock. The shock only grew as once he unplugged the phone, they all heard the phone over in the corner ringing. Jake reached over to it and picked the phone up, "Hello?"   
"Hello, this is assistant secretary Walsh from the Department of Homeland Security. Do not be alarmed. If you are safe, stay where you are. Do not attempt to leave." it was a recording, Jake's brows furrowed. Turning around he relayed the message to everyone.   
"Jimmy and I should get to town hall," Eric offered before he took the two coffees to go and headed out the door.   
"Homeland security?" Mimi questioned as Jake came back over to his coffee.   
"That's what they said," he reasoned.   
"So they're in charge now?" Stanley asked.  
"They're supposed to be in charge in case of a disaster, so I assume so," Mimi explained.   
Mary looked at her, "What happens next?"   
Stanley was confused, "Why are you asking her, she's with the IRS?"   
"She's from DC," Mary replied.   
Mimi held up her hands as she tried to recall what she'd been told, "Here's what they told us. First, they restore the power, then communication, then transportation. Oh god I'm this close to non-lattes at Shiatsu," she stated looking forward to leaving podonkville.   
Jake smiled, giving his friend a pat on the back, "I'm going to go see if they need anything at Town Hall," with that he bid them a goodbye and headed out into the sunlight, well aware that it made his head ache.   
As he entered Town hall and moved towards his father's office he stepped inside to see Jimmy messing with the TV in the corner, noticing the Safety Alert signal on the TV he glanced up at his father. "Hey dad, is it the same thing on every channel?" He questioned.   
He took stock of his father, the man looked better than he had in days, the coughing had subsided, it looked like whatever medications April had been giving him were finally starting to work. His mother was no doubt pleased by that.   
"So far," Eric replied.   
"What about the radio?" Jake questioned.   
Johnston shook his head, "Same message. You look like crap," the older man stated, a tone of disapproval in his voice.   
Jake looked at his father, trying not to be a jerk about his response, "I didn't sleep," he replied. Truthfully sleep would've been impossible anyway, after seeing the dead kids at the camp yesterday it had brought some of his bad memories back.   
"Next time put the cards down and go home," his father's response reminded him of before he'd left, he looked over and glared at his brother for giving the man information. His brother just tilted his slightly as if to say he agreed with his father's disapproval. Jake couldn't help that he stood ram rod straight at the tone, clenching and unclenching his jaw ever so slightly. "Sooner or later the phones are going to free up. Let's keep calling out until we reach somebody."   
"But who do we call?" Jimmy questioned.   
"Well that homeland security message came out of Topeka, let's start there."   
Eric shook his head, "Everyone's thinking that. I say we start with the national guard base in Great Ben."   
Jake nodded, "We should get to the gas station too, get some gas while we can."   
Eric smirked, "I already sent Bill, he's running the pumps there now."   
Jake looked at his brother, feeling his anger level rising. "We need to charge our batteries too."   
He saw his father point over his shoulder and saw them all doing exactly that. "All right looks like you've got it covered," he stated as he turned and started walking out.   
"Where ya going?" His father called, again a slight hint of disapproval in his tone.   
"Home, you clearly don't need me," he replied, before walking away.   
o0o  
He arrived home to the sound of his mother vacuuming upstairs, from the sounds of it she was in his father and her bedroom. So he made quick work of heading into his personal bedroom and closing the door. He moved over to the small crib and smiled at the sight of big brown eyes looking back at him. "Well hello there Miss Abigail," he greeted as he grinned and picked her up out of the crib, he pressed a kiss to her cheek which she gladly gurgled at. "Do you want to join daddy in a quick bath?" He questioned as he set her down in the center of his bed and made quick work of stripping down to his briefs. He had to admit over the last few days he'd warmed up to the idea of being a daddy.   
Grabbing a towel so he could dry her off, he headed back out of his room, with baby in tow and into the bathroom. He knelt down by the tub and filled it with only about an inch or two of water. He then put his daughter on the rug in front of the tub and went to work of removing her clothes. "You stink, yes you do," he grinned as he bent over and blew a raspberry on her belly, making her squeal in delight. "And so do I," he chuckled as he picked her up and sat himself and her in the tub. He felt the water soaking through his briefs, but he wasn't really sure how else to keep her sitting upright and use his hands to grab things. Sitting in with her he could easily lean her against his chest and grab stuff as he needed it, then just get her dried and dressed and back in her crib and take a shower on his own.   
"All right ma'am, I've warmed up the water," using both heads he quickly laid her back in the water, getting her wet, without getting her face wet. Despite his efforts to not shock her, she instantly started crying when the water came up around her head to dampen her hair.   
He heard the vacuum shut off, "It's okay mom!" he called out, so she wouldn't panic when she didn't find the baby in her crib. "Shhh, you're all right," once he'd gotten her hair wet enough he sat her back in his lap and grabbed a little of the Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. He was just starting to gently rub it in when his mother walked in. "Mom--" He began to complain about embarrassment.   
"Oh stop, you've got nothing I haven't seen. Though watching you sit there with your briefs on is rather hilarious, need some help?"   
"Um…sure," he offered smiling, trying not to think how weird it was that he and his daughter were basically naked in a tub with his mother in the same room.   
"Lean her back and I'll pour the water over her head," Gail replied as she grabbed an old plastic cup. Despite Abi's protests about having water on her, Gail and Jake proceeded to bathe the baby.   
"Shh, you're all right, it's okay," he murmured, pressing kissed to her forehead over and over again.   
"When we find out what's going on, are you staying, or taking her and leaving?" His mother finally asked as they finished up. She set the baby on the towel on the floor and went about gently drying everything.   
Jake sighed, "Honestly, I haven't considered it yet," he answered honestly, wishing his mother wasn't asking him this right now.   
"I can't help but think about it, I finally have you back, I'm not ready to lose you again," she answered as she started clothing the baby.   
"Can we continue this conversation when I'm dressed?" He asked smirking.   
She chuckled, "Sure, I'm going to go downstairs and feed her, need anything?"   
"Another towel would be nice," he answered.   
She nodded and disappeared for a few moments, before returning with the towel, "We'll be downstairs." With that the two ladies left him alone, the door closing behind them, and Jake stood, stripping off the last of his clothes, he drew the curtain and took the first really hot shower he could remember in far too long.   
He considered his mother's question, truthfully he hated the town, but he wanted to believe he was a better man and could live here now, he certainly had always considered wanting to have children one day, but then again he'd never really thought about settling down and having children. Truth was Jericho was his town, his home.   
Finishing up his shower and getting dressed, he headed downstairs to see his mother rocking Abi back to sleep with a bottle. Sighing he sat down on the couch, "You were always better at blocking out the bad than dad," he muttered as he sank into the couch.   
"He's had more to block out. When you left…you left quite the mess, you have no idea the length your father had to go to square things," she answered.   
"Why didn't he talk to me? He spent five years ignoring my existence too," he replied.   
Her look was clear sorrow and a hint of pity, "Because he knew you'd resent it. Not to mention that stubborn streak that appears to run in the family. Honey, he deserves to know the truth."   
Jake looked up, shock written on his face, and fear, his stomach curdled at the idea of his dad every knowing the truth about his time away. "You want me to tell him about…my time away?"   
"This house is too small for big secrets like yours."   
Before he could say anything further to dispute her, the power flickered several times, before coming back on. "What was that?"   
"Power surges, Mom--"   
"Go, just be safe," she requested from him. 

The library was on fire, Heather tried to protect her friends the best she could, she heard the fireman giving instructions, along with April who had come to check on the children and the librarian who had been hit moments earlier. As Heather glanced once more over at her children she started taking count, her stomach dropping, "Where's Ashlee?" She questioned nervously.   
"She went to get Alice," Lucas offered.   
"Alice?" There was no child named Alice, then it hit her, Ashlee's favorite book, "Alice in Wonderland? Inside!?"   
Lucas nodded, Heather turned without hesitation and ran into the burning building, knowing full well it was a horrible choice. But she couldn't let any of the kids die, they depended on her. She made a mental note when done with today to go back over with her kids about fire safety. "Ashlee!" She called out as she made it through the stacks of books, the building was already thick with acrid smoke, making her lungs burn, she covered her face with her shirt, "Ashlee, it's Miss Lisinsky!" 

Jake had just arrived as he a second truck disappeared, "What's happened?" he questioned his brother.   
April shook her head, checking over the librarian still, "A power line," she offered.   
"HOLD THE WATER!" Eric shouted, waving his arms to the firemen who were getting ready to start the blaze.   
"What's wrong?" April questioned.   
"Electrical fires," Eric supplied, as if that explained everything as he went back over to the Chief.   
April looked at Jake in exasperation, "If water is sprayed on electricity, everyone that touches it gets fried," he supplied the explanation she'd wanted from her husband. 

At Town Hall, Gail arrived with Abi in her baby carrier, just in time to see her handsome husband of near forty years getting dressed in fireman's gear. "Johnston," she said, her tone filled to the brim with frustration and exhaustion.   
"Thought you were at the ranch," He offered, attempting to divert her.   
"The horses are safe, there's nothing but dirt for miles surrounding them. You are not going to that fire," she stated.   
"I let Chief Carroll and half the department go to Denver, we're down to a handful of me," he tried reasoning with her, but he knew it was no use when it came to his beautiful wife.   
"Who can handle it. Johnston, you just got over your flu, I don't want to see you any sicker," she returned.   
Before either could say anything the radio clicked and Eric's voice came on over it, "Dad! Dad, are you still there?"   
"Yeah Eric, I'm on my way," Johnston returned into the radio.   
"No! Go downstairs and turn off the power grid to the library," Eric instructed.   
"Give me five minutes," then he looked at his wife, "Looks like once again you get your way, they can use me here," and with that he stalked out of the office. 

Within a five minutes as promised, his father radioed back that they were good to go. Jake was looking around and noticed that the kids from the bus were there, but Heather was nowhere to be seen.   
The fireman started the hoses but within only a matter of seconds the water stopped, "What's wrong?" Jake asked.   
"We must be on the water valve must be on the same power grid as the library," explained the Chief, "We lost the pressure when they cut the power."   
Jake was torn, his concern for Heather's location was mounting, he looked at his brother, "I'll go to the water station…I think Heather may still be inside," he offered.   
Eric nodded, "I'll ask around, go, thank you!"   
Jake was about to hobble his way there when Stanley pulled up, "Stanley thank god, the Chaparral," Jake instructed.   
Eric looked back to his wife, "Where's Heather?" he asked.   
"I don't know, she was here when I got here."   
"I think she's still inside," he reasoned, before his wife could say anything further he hurried to the fire truck and grabbed one of the coats, rushing into the building full of smoke.   
The air was thick and black, as he took a breath in, which he realized he shouldn't have he coughed harshly. Trying to slow his breathing he headed further into the little library. All too aware that if he didn't find them soon they'd both die.   
"Is anyone in here?" He called.   
Meanwhile Heather was up just a little further, she burst into one of the rooms, finding Alice in Wonderland on a chair, "Ashlee!" she called, before spotting the small frightened figure underneath the table. 

Jake hurried out of the truck, followed closely by Stanley, "Come on if we can turn on the valve, we can get the water back on," they headed inside, to find the large wheel that would turn the valve on. 

"Is anyone here!?" Eric called as he continued his through the library, "Heather!?" he called out. He spotted the door open to a classroom. "Heather?" then he spotted her and the little girl, the relief he felt was short lived when he felt something smash into his back and head, then the world went black. 

"Damn it!" Growled Jake as he and Stanley grunted in effort to get the stupid wheel to turn.   
"It's not going to budge," Stanley stated, shaking his head, "How do you even know this is it?"   
"Trust me, it's the manual override. When the power spiked, the solenoid valve shut down in the off position," he explained.   
Stanley stared at him as if he had a second head, "What the heck? how do you even know that?"   
"How do you not? The motor opens and closes when the powers on, so it doesn't usually require manual labor. We need a fulcrum, something to give us leverage."   
Stanley's eyes lit up, "Wait right here!" 

"Eric! Eric wake up!" Heather had dragged him away from the burning part of the ceiling that had fallen, stamping out the fire that had tried to get him with a nearby rug. The blue eyes opened, a haziness behind them that worried her. "Eric, we're stuck, I'm sorry I need your help?"   
His eyes locked onto her face, taking in the soot covered mess and he nodded, his lungs ached, his chest felt heavy, he was exhausted and he hurt from head to toe, but the little girl and Heather were relying on him. "Okay, both of you crouch down, I'll figure out a way to get us out," he promised, he and Heather each grabbed one of the giant toy snakes to block the door cracks. His head throbbed and he was fairly sure his mother would kill him when he got outside.   
He was starting to feel the darkness closing in around him once more from an obvious concussion when suddenly the sprinkler system burst on. He tried to heave a sigh of relief, only to end up coughing, his lungs on fire.   
"Come on, we need to get out!" Heather urged, grabbing him by the hand and they rushed through the way they'd first come in.   
Outside April was growing hysterical, terror filling her every fiber knowing what could possibly be happening to her husband in there, "Someone has to go in there and help them!" She shouted desperately.   
But before anyone could respond the doors burst open and Heather, Ashlee and Eric appeared.   
Eric made it all of two steps however, before collapsing to his knees, groaning and desperately trying to breath as another coughing fit tore through his entire body.   
"Are you all right?" April asked as she knelt down next to him.   
He tried to wave her off, his voice horse, "Check the girl, please," he groaned. He felt a couple hands on each side of him, helping him up and away from the building to sit down somewhere.   
Jake and Stanley arrived back a short ten minutes later to find that though the fire was still raging it appeared to be mostly abated, "April! April, Eric! There's another fire!" he shouted, he'd seen it when he'd checked to see if the library had gotten water.   
He noted how pale his brother looked, and the labored breathing, "We'll get to it as soon as we can," Eric wheezed.   
"Eric," Jake grabbed his brother's shoulder, "It's heading to your house, tell me what you want!"   
Eric shook his head, trying to force himself back to his feet, "There's nothing to do. We're already spread too thin, if we don't stop the fires it'll take out all of main street."   
"April?" Jake questioned.   
She looked devastated but simply nodded, "He's right."   
Grabbing his brother's radio he clicked it on, "Dad! Dad are you there?"   
"I'm here son, everything all right?"   
"I need your help, meet me at Eric's house."   
Johnston glanced at Gail who just nodded, "I'll be right there son."   
Jake headed back over to Stanley's truck, Stanley having given him the keys as he offered to stay and help people at the library. Hawkins stepped up to him, Jake considered that he'd seen the man on the computer, in truth he hadn't completely made up his mind yet about Robert Hawkins, but the man seemed nice enough. "What are you going to do?" He questioned Jake.   
Deciding not to address the obviously bigger issue, Jake shrugged, "I'm going to put out a fire."   
"Do you need a hand?"   
Jake considered saying no, but in truth he couldn't afford to fight a fire alone, so he nodded, "Please." As they jumped into the car, Jake looked at his neighbor, "Look, I don't know what you are, but coming from someone who is frequently causing trouble, if you're going to help protect this town, then I can't ask for more."   
Hawkins nodded, "I'm only here to help," he offered.   
Jake could agree to that, he pulled the truck to a stop in front of the houses, "What now?"   
"Water, there's a pool pump," he hurried over to the one at a nearby home, "Filtering system, that's pretty smart, Jake. Where'd you learn to do all this?" Hawkins asked.   
Jake glanced at him, "Army," he offered quietly.   
Jake hurried back to the home, seeing his father pull up to the house, "Turn it on!" he instructed to Hawkins, but Hawkins had disappeared, before he could turn and say anymore the house exploded with a mighty woosh, sending Jake crashing back a few feet.  
"Jake!" his father hurried over, helping him to his feet. "Are you all right"   
"Think so, Hawkins?" the two men hurried over to the pool pump, but the power gone, just then Hawkins pulled up in an SUV. "What are you doing?" Jake asked.   
"Fire knocked out the power, so I found my own," the man grinned as he pulled a plug and went to the back of the SUV, plugging it into the back outlet.   
"That was quick thinking," Jake offered to Hawkins.   
Hawkins grinned, "Yeah…I learned a few things in my time too," he whispered in response.   
Jake didn't say another word, the three men headed to the house to put the fire out.   
o0o  
It was a few hours later, all the fires had been put out, everyone who still had a home, had gone to theirs. April and Eric were gathering some stuff to bring to the house. Jake came downstairs from putting Abi to bed to find his mother putting out the good silver. "What's the occasion?" He asked.   
She smiled and looked up at her eldest, "This set has been passed down five generations and it's seen the light of day maybe half a dozen times since I've had it. From now on, every night is a special occasion."  
"Did you turn the TV of?" he questioned.   
"Yeah, somehow, it seemed silly to keep staring at a blank screen waiting for god knows who to tell us god knows what," She paused, leaning against one of the chairs and meeting her son's eyes. "Did get me thinking, remember that thing you're running away from? It's not out there, he's upstairs, waiting on dinner."   
Jake sighed and closed his eyes, he knew his mother was right, so nodding he headed upstairs. Gail looked up to see her younger son who looked far worse for the wear since she'd last seen him, and April walk in, each carrying a box. "I'm glad you're home," she offered her tone filled with love and compassion. 

Jake walked into his father's den, the man was reading quietly on the couch when he noticed his son watching him, "Everything all right?"   
"Do you have…some time to talk?"   
"Okay, you want a drink?"   
Jake nodded as he took a seat. His father grabbed his good scotch, and two tumblers, "It seems like something else is new every day, how are we going to handle all this?" Jake asked.   
Johnston sighed, pouring them both a small bit of scotch and handing one to his eldest, then he took a seat, "The same way we did today. Lost a few buildings, but no lives," The man paused, taking a sip of his drink and considered the man before him, "And that is, in no small part, thanks to you. A lot of folks are saying how lucky Jericho is to have you back."  
One side of his mouth quirked, he could imagine how irritated that made his dad, "Yeah and what are you telling them?"   
"Well, I try to correct them, but nobody listens to me," Johnston joked.  
Jake sighed, staring down at the amber liquid in his tumbler, before he spoke, "You know what the hardest part about growing up your son was?" He paused, smiling warily, "It's not the politics, or the expectations. It's that I knew you were a good judge of character, and you thought mine was lousy," he whispered the last bit. He'd spent all his teen years trying to be something he realized he'd never be. His father's cool blue eyes were on him, calculatingly. "When I left town…I was determined to prove you wrong," he paused trying to decide what to tell the man, how to tell him the truth about where he'd been all this time. "But…but instead everywhere I went, I seemed to prove you right."   
For his part, Johnston realized he'd been harsh on his young son. The man he'd seen over the past week since the bombs had gone off wasn't the same man who'd left. Johnston was proud of the man who'd come home, he wasn't ready to admit it quite yet, but he was. He also could tell that whatever Jake needed to say he may not be ready to say it.   
"Dad, I wasn't just in San Diego," Jake began.   
"I don't care," he knew it sounded callous, and cold, and he hadn't meant it to sound quite that harsh.   
"What?" His son looked at him, the hurt in his chocolate eyes made Johnston ache.   
Johnston sighed and looked up at his son, trying to show Jake as much compassion as he could in one look, "I don't care," he said, softening his tone some, "If you need to tell me, I'll listen. But wherever you went, and whatever you did, it changed you." He took another breath, "And a stupid little punk may have left home, but a pretty decent fellow came back. I can live with that."   
Jake looked back down at his now empty glass, trying to decide if he should say anything, "I…I joined the army, I didn't stay, but I went into military school. I'll tell you the rest when I'm ready…but I do need you to know that I tried, dad. I really did."   
Johnston smiled at his son, "I know, son," he put his glass on the table, "Let's go see if dinner is done yet."   
They headed downstairs, to find Heather had joined them, "Your…your mom invited me over," she explained shyly, as she looked at Jake.   
Jake moved over to her, not even caring that she was here, he pulled her close, "I'm just glad you're okay," he whispered into her ear.   
"Me too," she replied.   
He pulled back and looked at Eric, who was sitting in a chair, washed up and looking tired, "You okay?" he questioned.   
Eric shrugged, "Tired," he lied, his chest still ached and his back hurt, but he wasn't quite ready to admit that to his wife who apparently wanted to be his ex wife.   
They family and Heather gathered around the table, Jake took a seat next to his mother, with Heather at his side. Gail and Johnston at the ends of the table with Eric and April on the opposite side of Jake and Heather. "For all these years, wanting the whole family around the table," Gail grinned.   
"Careful what you wish for," joked Jake as the other chuckled.   
"It's delicious, Gail," April offered smiling at her mother-in-law.   
"Thank you."   
"Yeah, who knew instant potatoes could taste like anything," chuckled Eric, but the chuckle turned into a cough. He tried to hide it quickly, though he felt all eyes on him.   
"Well, things will get better, once we get real food," reasoned Gail, trying not to worry about her son.   
They were all quiet for a few moments, before Johnston spoke, "Fillet mignon and blue cheese." When all eyes were on him he rolled his eyes, he noticed both Jake and Heather grinning, "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."   
Jake chuckled from his seat, as Heather grinned, "Chinese food," she grinned, her nose wrinkling like it usually did.   
"Cheeseburger and French fries," Jake smiled, taking her hand and squeezing it.   
"Corn beef and cabbage, with that spicy mustard," she closed her eyes imaging she was eating it while her family chuckled at her.   
"Yeah, I could go for a slice of mom's blueberry pie," Eric grinned as his mother blushed and took a fake bow of appreciation.   
"Fried chicken with some fresh corn on the cob," they all laughed.   
"Oh my god chocolate cake," Heather laughed, as Gail whole heartedly agreed.   
The dinner was interrupted by Stanley informing them there was a feed over at Bailey's. The group headed over, Jake reached out, taking Heather's hand in his as they walked over. She smiled at him, "Your family is really nice," she offered soft enough they may not hear.   
He nodded, "They're pretty great. What's wrong with Eric?"   
"He got hit by some ceiling, he was down for a bit, he took in a lot of smoke unfortunately," she whispered.   
Jake made a mental note to tell his sister-in-law that at the first chance he got. The feed from Bailey's didn't tell them much, but as the ground rumbled. As they ran outside, Jake felt his stomach sink, "Are those missiles?" April asked.   
"The better question is are they ours or theirs?" Gail questioned.   
"They're going out, they're ours," Jake replied, he felt Heather at his side. He gripped her hand again.   
"Is this it? Are we at war?" Eric asked.   
Another bright explosion above them shot out and instantly every light around them shut down. "What was that?" Stanley asked.   
"It was an EMP," Jake supplied, "Electromagnetic Pulse, fries anything electronic."   
"Is that the help we've been waiting for?" someone asked.   
"Is anyone coming to help us?" Eric questioned.   
Johnston shook his head, "No, I don't think so. He stepped up in front of his town and sighed, "Folks, I know we're all scared, and nervous. Let's go home tonight, shut your doors, lock them if it makes you feel safe. We'll reconvene in the morning."   
Jake looked at Heather, "Come on, I'll walk you home." 

TBC

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: So I changed things a bit, Anna was already 3 months pregnant when Jake got back and started job hunting. Freddy died earlier when she was closer to six months pregnant. Jake kept her safe because she refuses to go anywhere.  
> Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but the infant.


End file.
